Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritima)

Family
Scolopacidae (Sandpipers, Snipes, Phalaropes)

Size
20 - 22 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Br�nnich, 1764)

Habitat
Breeds on tundra, in Scotland on Arctic-Alpine heath having sedges, moses and lichens that are interspersed with rocks, scree and gravel.

Range (Guide)

Belgium (NB), Canada (B) (NB) (P), Denmark (NB) (P), Estonia (NB), Faroe Islands (B) (NB), Finland (B) (NB) (P), France (NB) (P), Germany (NB), Greenland (B) (NB), Iceland (B) (NB), Ireland (NB), Netherlands Antilles (NB), Norway (B) (NB), Poland (NB), Portugal (NB), Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B), Russia (European) (B) (NB) (P), Spain (NB), St Pierre and Miquelon (NB) (P), Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (B), Sweden (B) (NB), United Kingdom (B) (NB) (P), USA (B).

Vagrant to Austria, Belarus, Cape Verde, Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska), Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, Serbia, Slovakia (Slovak Republic), Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine.

Population
Estimated population is 190,000 - 270,000 (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Insects, spiders and some fruits on Tundra, invertebrates on seashore.

Voice
A short, variable 'kewitt' in contact and an agitated call in alarm.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (69)...)

Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritima) [XC487566]
by Stanislas Wroza from Flatey Island, Iceland (call, flight call)

Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritima) [XC695392]
by Simon Elliott from Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland (call)

Nest
A small depression in the ground, in the open, sparsely lined.

Eggs (Guide)
4; slightly glossy, olive to buff with dark blotches and spots.

Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Rock Sandpiper (Calidris ptilocnemis). Formerly considered conspecific with Rock Sandpiper (Calidris ptilocnemis).

No subspecies.

References
See References.

The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7

Files:

JPG files for Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritima) - 10 files

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BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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