The Pectoral Sandpiper, Calidris melanotos, is a small wader. It is a very long-distance migrant, breeding in the tundra. The American and most of the Asian bird’s winter in  South America, but some Asian breeders winter in southern Australia and New Zealand. On migration and in winter, the Pectoral Sandpiper is typically found at fresh water habitats.

Description

The Pectoral Sandpiper has a grey breast, sharply demarcated at its lower edge. This clear dividing line is particularly conspicuous if the birds are turned towards the observer. The legs are yellowish, and the bill is olive with a darker tip. The juveniles are more brightly patterned above with rufous colouration and white mantle stripes.

Call

Call a harsh "churk." Courtship call a hollow hooting, interspersed with growling and squawking notes. The breeding male Pectoral Sandpiper has an inflatable throat sac, which expands and contracts rhythmically during display flights. The accompanying vocalization consists of a series of hollow hoots, and is one of the most unusual sounds heard in summer on the arctic tundra.

Food

These birds forage on grasslands and mudflats, picking up food by sight, sometimes by probing. They mainly eat arthropods and other invertebrates. During the breeding season, Pectoral Sandpipers eat flies and fly larvae, spiders, and seeds.

Breeding

Pectoral Sandpipers are promiscuous. Males mate with multiple females, and females mate with multiple males. Males arrive on the breeding grounds before females and establish territories. When females arrive, the males attract them with a flight display, rhythmically expanding and contracting the air sacs in their breasts. The female builds a nest in a grassy spot on the ground. They build a steep-sided scrape nest with a considerable volume of lining material. The nest is deep enough that the eggs sit about 3 cm below ground level, which helps to minimize heat loss from the cool breezes which occur at the latitudes where the species nests. The female lays four eggs. She provides all the parental care. Incubation lasts for 21 to 23 days, and the four chicks leave the nest and feed themselves soon after hatching. The female stays with the young for about 10 to 20 days. The young start to fly at around 21 days, and are capable flyers by 30 days. She provides all the parental care. Incubation lasts for 21 to 23 days, and the four chicks leave the nest and feed themselves soon after hatching. The female stays with the young for about 10 to 20 days. The young start to fly at around 21 days, and are capable flyers by 30 days.

Conservation Status – Least Concern

The Pectoral Sandpiper's migration might be affected by GLOBAL WARMING, as is suspected for many Arctic-breeding birds: 100 years ago, migrating Pectoral Sandpipers were observed to pass through northern Ohio in early-mid May and again in late August; today, the bulk of the northward migration takes place in April already, and most birds do not return until mid-September. Little information on current population trends, but appears to be relatively stable.

Birdwatching

Migrants are much more common in Washington State in fall than spring. Fall visitors start showing up in the interior in small numbers in late June. Their numbers increase into July and August, and by mid-August they are common. By late October, numbers start tapering off. They are uncommon by the end of October, and rare through most of November. Coastal birds start arriving in mid-July, but are uncommon through mid-August. From mid-August to October, they are common, then become uncommon again through early November. A few stragglers can sometimes be seen through the end of November. Most of these birds are juvenile.