Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Calidris pygmaea (Linnaeus, 1758)
14–16 cmLength32 gWeight
This small wader has a spoon-shaped bill and is Critically Endangered.
Busiest months: January–February · Most records: Thailand, China, South Korea
How to identify
Field marks
- Bill spoon-shaped
- Head, neck and breast rufous with dark brown streaks in summer plumage
- Winter plumage lacks red; upperparts pale brownish-gray
- Underparts entirely white; legs and feet black
Voice
A soft contact call, “preep”, also a grating “wheer”.
Where and when it's recorded
Busiest months: January–February · Most records: Thailand, China, South Korea
Spoon-billed Sandpiper has been recorded at 98 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 9 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
To protect this bird from disturbance, we don't list exact sites.
Countries and regions with the most records
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 spoon-billed sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea) is a small wader which breeds on the coasts of the Bering Sea and winters in Southeast Asia. This species is highly threatened, and it is said that since the 1970s the breeding population has decreased significantly. By 2000, the estimated breeding population of the species was 350–500.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Spoon-billed Sandpiper?
The Spoon-billed Sandpiper is about 14–16 cm long and weighs around 32 g.
Where does the Spoon-billed Sandpiper live?
Its breeding range: Palearctic: coastal low Arctic to subarctic tundra of northeastern Siberia: northeastern, eastern Chukotskiy Peninsula to northern Kamchatka Peninsula (northeastern Russia). It is most often recorded in Thailand, China and South Korea.
When is the best time to see the Spoon-billed Sandpiper?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in January and February (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Spoon-billed Sandpiper endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Spoon-billed Sandpiper as Critically Endangered.
What does the Spoon-billed Sandpiper eat?
Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.
What family is the Spoon-billed Sandpiper in?
It belongs to the family Sandpipers, Snipes (Scolopacidae), order Charadriiformes.
At a glance
- Length
- 14–16 cm
- Weight
- 32 g
- Habitat
- Coast & tidal flats
- Diet
- Fish, shrimp & shellfish
- Lifestyle
- Active on the ground
- Migration
- Migratory
- Conservation
- Critically Endangered
More measurements
- Wing
- 99 mm
- Tail
- 37 mm
- Bill
- 23 mm
- Tarsus
- 22 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Palearctic: coastal low Arctic to subarctic tundra of northeastern Siberia: northeastern, eastern Chukotskiy Peninsula to northern Kamchatka Peninsula (northeastern Russia)
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Sandpipers, Snipes Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Calidris
Other birds in the genus Calidris
Great KnotCalidris tenuirostris
Red KnotCalidris canutus
SurfbirdCalidris virgata
RuffCalidris pugnax
Broad-billed SandpiperCalidris falcinellus
Sharp-tailed SandpiperCalidris acuminata
Stilt SandpiperCalidris himantopus
Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferruginea
Temminck's StintCalidris temminckii
Long-toed StintCalidris subminuta
Red-necked StintCalidris ruficollis
Buff-breasted SandpiperCalidris subruficollis
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/). ↗
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