Calidris alba

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Physical Description

Habitat

Usually seen in large flocks on ocean beaches.

Vegetation: coastal sand beaches and mudflats • Sensitivity to Disturbance: Medium

Typically found in a lake at a mean distance from sea level of 45 meters (148 feet).[1]

Ecology: Behaviour This species is a full long-distance migrant that travels mainly via offshore and coastal routes using a number of favoured stopover sites1. It breeds from June to mid-July in solitary pairs1, departing the breeding grounds between mid-July and early-September2. The species usually occurs in small flocks on migration3 although it may aggregate into larger flocks at stopover sites2, and in winter it forages in small to very large flocks1. Habitat Breeding The species breeds in the high Arctic on barren, stony tundra with well-drained ridges1, 3, gentle slopes or level alluvial plains supporting scattered vegetation of willow Salix spp. , Dryas spp. and saxifrage Saxifraga spp. usually less than 200 m above sea-level3. Non-breeding On passage the species may occur on inland freshwater or saline lakes1 but it is largely coastal during the winter, inhabiting open sandy beaches exposed to the sea , the outer reaches of estuaries, rocky and muddy shores , mudflats1 and coral reefs4. Diet Breeding When breeding the species takes insects (especially adult and larval Diptera, Coleoptera and Lepidoptera) as well as spiders and crustaceans1. On arrival on the breeding grounds the species may also complement its diet with plant matter (e.g. seeds, saxifrage buds, moss and algae)1 before invertebrate prey becomes available3. Non-breeding During the winter its diet consists of small molluscs , crustaceans, polychaete worms and adult, larval and pupal insects (e.g. Diptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Hemiptera and Hymenoptera), as well as occasionally fish and carrion1. Breeding site The nest is a shallow depression on the bare earth1 of stony well-drained ridges , gentle slope or level alluvial plains3. [2].

List of Habitats :

• 4 Grassland
• 4.1 Grassland - Tundra
• 5 Wetlands (inland)
• 5.5 Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)
• 5.14 Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Lakes
• 12 Marine Intertidal
• 12.1 Marine Intertidal - Rocky Shoreline
• 12.2 Marine Intertidal - Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars , Spits , Etc
• 12.3 Marine Intertidal - Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches
• 12.4 Marine Intertidal - Mud Flats and Salt Flats
• 12.6 Marine Intertidal - Tidepools

Biology

Diet

Primarily: Aquatic Invertebrates

Reproduction

Sanderlings nest on barrens near the sea around the North Pole , and they winter on sandy beaches virtually everywhere.

Clutch Size: 4 Length of Incubation : 24-31 days Days to Fledge : 17 Number of Broods: 1, occasionally 2

Migration

Migratory

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Calidris alba (Pallas, 1764)

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001

Similar Species

Red Knot, Dunlin

Members of the genus Calidris

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 32 species and subspecies in this genus:

C. acuminata (Siberian Pectoral Sandpiper) · C. alba (Beach Plover) · C. alba alba (Beach Plover) · C. alpina (Black-Bellied Sandpiper) · C. alpina alpina (Dunlin) · C. alpina arctica (Dunlin) · C. alpina pacifica (Dunlin) · C. alpina schinzii (Dunlin) · C. bairdii (BairdÌs Sandpiper) · C. canutus (Red-Breasted Sandpiper) · C. canutus canutus (Red Knot) · C. canutus rufa (Red Knot) · C. ferruginea (Curlew Sandpiper) · C. feruginea (Curlew Sandpiper) · C. fuscicollis (White-Rumped Sandpiper) · C. himantopus (Stilt Sandpiper) · C. maritima (Winter Rock-Bird) · C. maritima maritima (Winter Rock-Bird) · C. mauri (Western Semipalmated Sandpiper) · C. melanotos (Pectoral Sandpiper) · C. minuta (Little Stint) · C. minutilla (Least Or Sandpiper) · C. ptilocnemis (Commander Sandpiper) · C. ptilocnemis couesi (Rock Sandpiper) · C. ptilocnemis ptilocnemis (Pribilof Rock Sandpiper) · C. ptilocnemis quarta (Rock Sandpiper) · C. ptilocnemis tschuktschorum (Rock Sandpiper) · C. pusilla (Semi-Palmated Sandpiper) · C. ruficollis (Rufous-Necked Sandpiper) · C. subminuta (Long-Toes Stint) · C. temminckii (TemminckÌs Stint) · C. tenuirostris (Eastern Asiatic Knot)

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Further Reading

• A Directory of Neotropical Wetlands. IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre url p. 100, p. 102, p. 128, p. 17, p. 175, p. 180, p. 182, p. 186, p. 211, p. 216, p. 217, p. 218, p. 219, p. 220, p. 221, p. 24, p. 249, p. 283, p. 284, p. 290, p. 326, p. 35, p. 37, p. 383, p. 411, p. 448, p. 450, p. 451, p. 533, p. 555, p. 566, p. 640, p. 682, p. 81, p. 82, p. 83, p. 95.
• A checklist of the vertebrate animals of Kansas / George D. Potts, Joseph T. Collins. [Lawrence, Kan.]: Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, 1991. url p. 10.
• A guide to the birds of Nepal Christopher Helm (Publishers) Ltd. url p. 46.
• A handbook to the vertebrate fauna of north Wales. London, Witherby & Co., 1919. url p. 65.
• A manual of Philippine birds / by Richard C. McGregor. Manila: Bureau of Printing, 1909. url p. 132.
• A manual of Philippine birds, by Richard C. McGregor. .. Manila, Bureau of Printing, 1909. url p. 132.
• An ecological characterization of Coastal Maine (north and east of Cape Elizabeth) / Stewart I. Fefer and Patricia S. Schettig: principal investigators. Newton Corner, Mass.: Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northeast Region, 1980. url , p. 5.
• Annual report / Albany: University of the State of New York, 1902-1918. url p. 319, p. 478, p. 679.
• Beached marine birds and mammals of the North American West Coast: a manual for their census and identification / by David G. Ainley. .. [et al.] Pt. Reyes Bird Observatory; with drawings by Helen C. Strong; performed for National Coastal Ecosystems Team, Office of Biological Services, Fish and Wildlife Service [Washington, D.C.]: For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., [1980] url p. 137, p. 191.
• Biosphere Reserves, Compilation 4, October 1986: programme on man and the biosphere (MAB) IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre url p. 163, p. 272.
• Birds in Kansas / Max C. Thompson & Charles Ely. 1 Lawrence, Kan.: University of Kansas, Museum of Natural History: c1989- url p. 242, p. xii.
• Birds of New York / Albany: University of the State of New York, 1914. url .
• Birds of New York / by Elon Howard Eaton. Albany: University of the State of New York, 1910-1914. url p. 319, p. 478, p. 679, p. 681.
• Birds of New York Albany, University of the State of New York, 1910-14 url p. 679.
• Birds of New York, Albany, University of the State of New York, 1910-14. url .
• Birds of New York, by Elon Howard Eaton. .. Albany, University of the State of New York, 1910-14. url p. 319, p. 478.
• British birds. London, Witherby & Co. url p. 181, p. 3, p. 8, p. 96.
• Bulletin - United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.];1877-1971. url , p. 308.
• Bulletin / Peabody Museum of Natural History. 1955 New Haven: Peabody Museum of Natural History, url p. 103, p. 331.
• California fish and game. [San Francisco, etc.]: State of California, Resources Agency, Dept. of Fish and Game. url p. 123, p. 253, p. 94.
• Canada's missing dimension: science and history in the Canadian Arctic Islands / Ottawa: Canadian Museum of Nature, 1990. url p. 520.
• Cassinia. Philadelphia: Delaware Valley Ornithological Club, 1901- url p. 53.
• Catalogue of birds of the Americas and the adjacent islands in Field Museum of Natural History. Charles E. Hellmayr, Boardman Conover. 13 1948 Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1948. url p. 171.
• Check-list of North American birds: the species of birds of North America from the Arctic through Panama, including the West Indies and Hawaiian Islands / prepared by the Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the American Orni Lawrence, Kan.: American Ornithologists' Union, 1983. url p. 192, p. 801.
• Coral Reefs of the World. url p. 267.
• Directory of Wetlands of International Importance. IUCN url p. 109, p. 122, p. 174, p. 224, p. 226, p. 348, p. 568, p. 62, p. 693, p. 696, p. 698, p. 701, p. 762.
• FWS/0BS. [Washington]Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior. url p. 7.
• Great Basin naturalist memoirs. 1981 [Provo, Utah]Brigham Young University, 1976-1992. url p. 152, p. 214, p. 95.
• IUCN Directory of Afrotropical Protected Areas IUCN, UNEP url p. 1013, p. 268, p. 277.
• IUCN Directory of Protected Areas in Oceania IUCN url p. 14, p. 298, p. 436.
• IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas IUCN url p. 109, p. 124, p. 282.
• Illinois River Bluffs area assessment / Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Scientific Research and Analysis, [and the] State Geological Survey Division. Springfield, Ill.: Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources, 1998- url p. 74.
• Impacts of Climate Change on Wildlife RSPB url p. 22.
• Journal of ethnobiology. 21 2001 Flagstaff, Ariz.: Center for Western Studies, 1981- url p. 141.
• Madagascar: an environmental profile IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre url p. 176.
• Mangroves of Western and Central Africa. UNEP-WCMC Biodiversity Series 26 UNEP-WCMC, UNEP url p. 41.
• Marine turtles in Baluchistan: report on a aerial survey, 9-11 September 1988 with notes on wetland sites and a proposed marine turtle conservation project WCMC url p. 13.
• Memoirs of the San Diego Society of Natural History. 13 1984 San Diego, Calif.: The Society, 1931-1989. url p. 249, p. 49, p. 80.
• Migration of birds. by Frederick C. Linclon; revised by Steven R. Peterson; associate editor Peter A. Anastasi; illustrated by Bob Hines. Washington: Dept. of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service: for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1979. url p. 117.
• Natural history. New York: American Museum of Natural History. url p. 148.
• North American fauna. Washington: Fish and Wildlife Service; for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U. S. Govt. Print. Off. url p. 76.
• Occasional papers of the California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco: California Academy of Sciences, url p. 292, p. 60.
• P.D. Skaar's Montana bird distribution / revised by Susan Lenard. .. [et al.]. Helena: Montana Natural Heritage Program, 2003. url p. 49.
• Pesticides monitoring journal. [Washington, D.C.: For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., 1967-1981. url p. 60.
• Proceedings of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. Mosman, New South Wales [etc.]The Society. url p. 44.
• Proposed estuarine sanctuary grant award to the state of New York for a Hudson River estuarine sanctuary. Albany, N.Y.: New York, Dept. of Environmental Conservation, [1982] url p. 122.
• Publications in zoology = Publications en zoologie. Ottawa: National Museums of Canada, National Museum of Natural Sciences, 1970-1982. url p. 74.
• Smithsonian miscellaneous collections. 47 1905 Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1862-1968. url p. 345, p. 518.
• Syllogeus. Ottawa, National Museum of Natural Sciences, 1972-1995. url p. 29, p. 45.
• The American Museum journal. New York: American Museum of Natural History, c1900-[1918] url p. 148.
• The Auk. Washington, D.C.: American Ornithologists' Union, etc., 1884- url p. 208, p. 223, p. 278, p. 452, p. 579, p. 596.
• The Bahama Islands / edited by George Burbank Shattuck. [Baltimore]: Johns Hopkins Press; 1905. url p. 361, p. 361.
• The Bahama Islands, London, The Macmillan company, 1905. url p. 361.
• The Canadian field-naturalist. Ottawa, Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. url p. 13, p. 180, p. 22, p. 253, p. 279, p. 28, p. 283, p. 288, p. 374, p. 375, p. 421, p. 427, p. 440, p. 476, p. 494, p. 495, p. 496, p. 520, p. 554, p. 558, p. 567, p. 569, p. 601, p. 628, p. 668, p. 685, p. 688, p. 735, p. 738, p. 777.
• The Great Basin naturalist. 52 1992 Provo, Utah: M.L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University, 1939-1999. url p. 182, p. 519, p. 731.
• The Marine Mammal Commission compendium of selected treaties, international agreements, and other relevant documents on marine resources, wildlife, and the environment / compiled by Richard L. Wallace. Washington, D.C.: The Commission; 1994 url p. 689.
• The Philippine journal of science. Manila: Bureau of Science url p. 86.
• The Scottish naturalist. Arbroath [etc.]T. Buncle & Co. [etc.] url , p. 194, p. 206.
• The birds of North and Middle America: a descriptive catalogue of the higher groups, genera, species, and subspecies of birds known to occur in North America, from the Arctic lands to the Isthmus of Panama, the West Indies and other island Washington: Govt. Print. Off., 1901- url , .
• The birds of southeastern Madagascar / Steven M. Goodman. .. [et al.]. 87 1997 [Chicago, Ill.]: Field Museum of Natural History, c1997. url p. 128, p. 39.
• The ecology of Tijuana Estuary, California: a national estuarine research reserve / by Joy B. Zedler, Christopher S. Nordby and Barbara E. Kus. [Washington, D.C.: NOAA Office of Coastal Resource Management, Sanctuaries and Reserves Division], 1992. url p. 68.
• Transactions and proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 54 1922 Wellington: New Zealand Institute. url p. 494, p. 910.
• Transactions of the San Diego Society of Natural History. 18 1976 [San Diego]: The Society, 1905-1989. url p. 149, p. 22, p. 299, p. 325, p. 65.
• University of Kansas publications, Museum of Natural History. 3 1951 Lawrence, University of Kansas. url p. 150.
• Washington State Coastal Zone Management Program amendment no. 3: approval of the Grays Harbor estuary management plan: program draft environmental impact statement. [Olympia, Wash.?]: Grays Harbor Regional Planning Commission; 1983. url p. 5.
• Water Birds on the Edge: first circumpolar assessment of climate chage impact of Arctic breeding water birds. WCMC Biodiversity Series 11 UNEP-WCMC url , , p. 11, p. 3, p. 8.
• Year book - Carnegie Institution of Washington. Washington, Carnegie Institution of Washington url p. 210.

Notes

Contributors

• BirdLife International 2009. Calidris alba. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 31January2012.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
• IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 11, 2007:

• Avian Knowledge Network, eBird
• Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Bishop Museum Natural History Specimen Data
• Biologiezentrum der Oberoesterreichischen Landesmuseen, Biologiezentrum Linz
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, North West Territories and Nunavut Bird Checklist, Canada
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Birds
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Royal British Columbia Museum
• Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
• New Brunswick Museum, NBM birds
• OZCAM
• Provider, Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums
• Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara Musem of Natural History
• The Danish Biodiversity Information Facility, Western Palearctic migrants in continental Africa
• UNIBIO, IBUNAM, CNAV/Coleccion Nacional de Aves
• University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
• , Bird specimens
• Upper Silesian Museum, Bytom, Upper Silesian Museum, Bird Observations

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 8149
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-176669
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 3085810
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 176669
• IUCN ID: 197011
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABNNF11030
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 7532

Footnotes

1. Standard Deviation = 239.750 based on 12,891 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
2. BirdLife International 2009. Calidris alba. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 31 January 2012. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.