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The Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus),^1] is a small wader which breeds in northeastern Russia and winters in Southeast Asia.

Taxonomy and systematics

This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Platalea pygmea.^[2] It was moved to its current genus by Sven Nilsson in 1821^[3]

It belongs to the calidrid sandpipers, but its placement inside this group is not resolved. While it is usually assigned to the monotypic genus Eurynorhynchus, its peculiar morphological adaptations and equivocal DNA sequence data preclude determination of closest relatives and evolutionary history at present.^[4]

Description

The most distinctive feature of this species is its spatulate bill. The breeding adult bird is 14?16 cm in length, and has a red-brown head, neck and breast with dark brown streaks. It has blackish upperparts with buff and pale rufous fringing. Non-breeding adults lack the reddish coloration, but have pale brownish-grey upperparts with whitish fringing to the wing-coverts. The underparts are white and the legs are black.^[5]

The measurements are; wing 98?106 mm, bill 19?24 mm, bill tip breadth 10?12 mm, tarsus 19?22 mm and tail 37?39 mm.^[6]

The contact calls of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper include a quiet preep or a shrill wheer. The song, given during display, is an intermittent buzzing and descending trill preer-prr-prr. The display flight of the male includes brief hovers, circling and rapid diving while singing.

Distribution and habitat

The Spoon-billed Sandpiper's breeding habitat is sea coasts and adjacent hinterland on the Chukchi Peninsula and southwards along the isthmus of the Kamchatka peninsula It migrates down the Pacific coast through Japan, North Korea, South Korea and China, to its main wintering grounds in South and South-East Asia, where it has been recorded from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore.^[5]

Feeding

Its feeding style consists of a side-to-side movement of the bill as the bird walks forward with its head down. This species nests in June?July on coastal areas in the tundra, choosing locations with grass close to freshwater pools.^[6]

Status

This bird is critically endangered, with a current population of fewer than 2500 ? probably fewer than 1000 ? mature individuals.^[7] The main threats to its survival are habitat loss on its breeding grounds and loss of tidal flats through its migratory and wintering range. The important staging area at Saemangeu m, South Korea, has already been partially reclaimed, and the remaining wetlands are under serious threat of reclamation in the near future.^[5] A 2010 study suggests that hunting in Burma by traditional bird trappers is a primary cause of the decline.^[8]

Protected areas in its staging and wintering areas include Yancheng in China, Mai Po Marshes in Hong Kong and Point Calimere and Chilka lake in India,.^[5][9]

Formerly classified as an Endangered species by the IUCN,^[10] recent research shows that its numbers are decreasing more and more rapidly and that it is on the verge of extinction. It is consequently reclassified to Critically Endangered status in 2008.^[5][11] The population was estimated at only 120-200 pairs in 2009-2010, perhaps indicating an 88% decline since 2002 equating to an annual rate of decline of 26%.^{[citation needed]} Draining of the Saemangeum estuary in South Korea removed an important migration staging point, and hunting on the important wintering grounds in Burma has emerged as a serious threat. This species may become extinct in 10?20 years.^[12]

The BBC announced on Nov. 14. 2011 that 13 spoon-billed sandpipers arrived to the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) reserve in Slimbridge, Gloucestershire on Nov. 11th to start a breeding program in an attempt to save the species. The birds hatched from eggs collected in north-eastern Russian tundra earlier and spent 60 days in Moscow Zoo in quarantine in preparation for the 8,000 km journey.^[13]

as estimated at only 120-200 pairs in 2009-2010, perhaps indicating an 88% decline since 2002 equating to an annual rate of decline of 26%.^{[citation needed]} Draining of the Saemangeum estuary in South Korea removed an important migration staging point, and hunting on the important wintering grounds in Burma has emerged as a serious threat. This species may become extinct in 10?20 years.^[12]

The BBC announced on Nov. 14. 2011 that 13 spoon-billed sandpipers arrived to the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) reserve in Slimbridge, Gloucestershire on Nov. 11th to start a breeding program in an attempt to save the species. The birds hatched from eggs collected in north-eastern Russian tundra earlier and spent 60 days in Moscow Zoo in quarantine in preparation for the 8,000 km journey.^[13]

References

External links

• Photo of bird in summer plumage at BirdLife
• Video of a displaying male at YouTube
• BBC - Bid to save sandpiper at risk of extinction
• Saving the spoon-billed sandpiper, Chukotka expedition 2011 [1]