The semipalmated sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) is a very small shorebird. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific pusilla is Latin for "very small".

Within the genus Calidris, the semipalmated sandpiper is most closely related to the western sandpiper (Calidris mauri). It was formerly sometimes separated with some other stints in either Ereunetes or Erolia, but these placements would leave the rest of Calidris a paraphyletic group. Wingspan ranges from . Adults have black legs and a short, stout, straight dark bill. The body is dark grey-brown on top and white underneath. The head and neck are tinged light grey-brown. This bird can be difficult to distinguish from other similar tiny shorebirds, in particular the western sandpiper; these are known collectively as "peeps" or "stints".

Breeding and habitat

Their breeding habitat is the southern tundra in Canada and Alaska near water. They nest on the ground. The male makes several shallow scrapes; the female chooses one and adds grass and other material to line the nest. The female lays 4 eggs; the male assists in incubation. After a few days, the female leaves the young with the male; the young feed themselves.

These birds forage on mudflats, picking up food by sight and feel (bill). They mainly eat aquatic insects and their larvae, spiders, snails, worms and crustaceans. Semipalmated sandpipers rely heavily on horseshoe crab eggs during spring migration. During the months of July and August, the Nature Conservancy of Canada runs an information center about these shorebirds in Johnson's Mills, New Brunswick.

==References==<!-- BulletinOfTheBritishOrnithologistsClub101:339. Condor109:351. -->

Further reading

Identification

  • Jonsson, Lars & Peter J. Grant (1984) Identification of stints and peeps British Birds 77(7):293-315
  • Semipalmated sandpiper species sccount - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
  • Semipalmated sandpiper - Calidris pusilla - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
  • Johnson's Mills Shorebird Reserve and Interpretive Centre
  • An online identification article covering this species and other small calidrids at surfbirds.com
  • Semipalmated sandpiper - BirdLife International