Terek Sandpiper

Terek Sandpiper ( Xenus cinereus )

The Terek Sandpiper ( Xenus cinereus ) is within the Waders the only species of the genus Xenu Kaup, in 1829. He is a breeding bird of the boreal zone of the eastern part of the Baltic as far as Siberia. Some isolated breeding places are also found in western Russia and north of the Gulf of Bothnia. In Central Europe it is occasionally observed as Irrgast. In Mecklenburg- Vorpommern and Schleswig -Holstein it is every year to see, for example, since the mid- 1990s.

Features

The 22 to 25 centimeters long Terek Sandpiper reaches a wingspan of 38-40 centimeters, which is about as large as the sandpiper, but has shorter, yellow to orange legs. The beak is longer and slightly curved upwards. He is black and tinted dull red in breeding plumage at the root. The top and breast are gray -brown, the underside is white. In breeding plumage the bird has black vertical stripes on the shoulders. When excited he jacks to the rear body.

The most common call, usually put forward in flight, is a soft flötendes hühühü, usually two to three syllables, sometimes five syllables. In addition, the type has a wide repertoire of other, usually warbling calls. The song is a repeated, three syllables trills, as the Dlue - rrri - ruh sounds about.

Occurrence

The Terek Sandpiper breeds in marshes and bogs in the boreal zone of the eastern and Zentralpalaearktis of the Kamchatka Peninsula to north- east of the White Sea. In some regions, its breeding range extends into the sub-arctic tundra or achieved in a southerly direction to the edge of the steppe zone. In Scandinavia, it breeds in the area of Finland and Gulf of Bothnia and the eastern Finnmark in Northern Norway. The Terek Sandpiper is a long-distance migrant and pulls for the winter to the tropical coasts of Africa, South Asia and Australia. He lays back distances of 12,000 km and more. The deduction of the breeding grounds begins gradually from the beginning of July and is completed with the departure of the young birds in September. In the same month the first wintering Terek Sandpipers arrive in South Africa. The return migration begins in late March. The birds reach their breeding grounds in late May and early June. Stragglers are to be observed in Central Europe until June. In Africa there are also regularly summering birds.

Behavior

The Terek Sandpiper eats insects, worms and snails, which he studied with his long beak wading in shallow water. His food he finds either on the surface or through deep poking around in the damp substrate. While searching for food, he often runs around lively with short, choppy steps acting, short spurts and sudden turns. Most of his prey, he locates visually. She gets caught with almost horizontal position and beak out of the mud.

The flat Nistmulde is applied in a depression in the open ground or in low vegetation and lined with some plant parts. The nest consists of two to five eggs. The eggs are top-shaped, light brown to pale rusty brown with dark brown to purplish gray spots and small splashes. The onset of lay is from end of May. Incubation period is 23 days. Terek Sandpiper are among the species that show a strongly developed enticing during the breeding and the leadership of the young birds. The enticing parent bird deceives either injury or displays a behavior in which he far does a small piece of land and chick Pfeiflaute similar discharges, where he resists the springs and projecting cranes his neck.

Stock

The European breeding population was estimated at the beginning of the 21st century 15000-81000 breeding pairs. Stocks mostly live in the European part of Russia. Very small populations are also available in Finland ( 15 to 20 breeding pairs ), Belarus ( 100 to 150 breeding pairs ), Ukraine (300 to 500 breeding pairs ) and Latvia (up to a maximum of ten breeding pairs ).

The Terek Sandpiper is considered how many other Waders as one of the species that will be particularly affected by climate change. A research team, commissioned by the British Environment Agency and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the future diffusion trend of European breeding birds examined on the basis of climate models, assumes that by the end of the 21st century significantly shrink the distribution area of ​​the Terek water strider and will shift to the east. Today's breeding sites in Ukraine and in western Russia offer the kind no suitable habitats more.