Pectoral Sandpiper

Calidris melanotos (Vieillot, 1819)

21 cmLength41 cmWingspan80 gWeight

The sharply defined lower edge of its gray breast-band gives this bird its English name.

Busiest months: September · Most records: United States, Canada, Australia

Looks like Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Breast gray, with a sharply defined lower edge
Bill olive, with a darker tip
Legs and feet yellowish-brown
Back gray-brown, grayest in winter

Male, female and young

Juvenile has more vivid upperpart markings, with rufous and white patches on the back; male has a blacker breast dotted with white spots in the breeding season.

Similar species

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

Similar in appearance; Pectoral Sandpiper has a distinct breast-band, a weaker supercilium and less reddish-brown on the crown.

Where and when it's recorded

Pectoral Sandpiper has been recorded at 1,703 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 124 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Hornsby BendUnited States7,231 records
Eagle Bluffs CAUnited States4,764 records
Hagerman NWRUnited States4,352 records

More places

Cape Island – South Cape May MeadowsUnited States4,177 records
Ensley Bottoms – Maxson Wastewater Lagoons/Earth ComplexUnited States4,001 records
St. Paul IslandUnited States3,047 records
Muskegon Wastewater SystemUnited States3,002 records
Pte. Mouillee SGAUnited States2,676 records
Edwin B. Forsythe NWRUnited States2,636 records
Bald Knob NWRUnited States2,467 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United States Canada Australia Argentina United Kingdom Peru Paraguay Bermuda

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The pectoral sandpiper (Calidris melanotos), often abbreviated pec, is a small, migratory wader that breeds in arctic regions of North America and Asia, wintering in South America and Oceania. It eats small invertebrates. Its nest, a hole scraped in the ground and with a thick lining, is deep enough to protect its four eggs from the cool breezes of its breeding grounds.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Pectoral Sandpiper?

The Pectoral Sandpiper is about 21 cm long, with a wingspan of 41 cm and weighs around 80 g.

Where does the Pectoral Sandpiper live?

Its breeding range: North America, Palearctic: high to low Arctic wet tundra of Holarctic: Yamal Peninsula (northwestern Siberia) east to Chukotskiy Peninsula, south to Anadyr, including New Siberian and Wrangel islands (northeastern Russia); western, northern Alaska through northeastern Canada, including Arctic islands from Banks to Devon and Southampton (northeastern Canada). It is most often recorded in United States, Canada and Australia.

When is the best time to see the Pectoral Sandpiper?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in September (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Pectoral Sandpiper endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Pectoral Sandpiper as Least Concern.

What does the Pectoral Sandpiper eat?

Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.

What family is the Pectoral Sandpiper in?

It belongs to the family Sandpipers, Snipes (Scolopacidae), order Charadriiformes.

At a glance

Length: 21 cm
Wingspan: 41 cm
Weight: 80 g
Habitat: Wetland
Diet: Fish, shrimp & shellfish
Lifestyle: Active on the ground
Migration: Migratory
Conservation: Least Concern

More measurements

Wing: 125 mm
Tail: 54 mm
Bill: 32 mm
Tarsus: 26 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

North America, Palearctic: high to low Arctic wet tundra of Holarctic: Yamal Peninsula (northwestern Siberia) east to Chukotskiy Peninsula, south to Anadyr, including New Siberian and Wrangel islands (northeastern Russia); western, northern Alaska through northeastern Canada, including Arctic islands from Banks to Devon and Southampton (northeastern Canada)

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2