Spotted Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper in breeding plumage
The Spotted Sandpiper ( Actitis macularius ) is a monotypic species of the family of the Waders. He is the equivalent of the Nearctic very similar sandpiper. The IUCN classifies the Spotted Sandpiper as an uncritical ( least concern ).
Appearance
The Spotted Sandpiper reaches a body length of 18 to 20 cm. The wingspan is 37 to 40 centimeters. The weight varies between 25 and 60 grams.
In breeding plumage the head, the neck and the back neck of the adult birds are greenish brown. The white over eye-streak is very thin, below that is a darker stripe that runs from the beak basis over the eyes to the ear patches. The throat, the front neck and underparts are white with eye-catching large brown spots. The undertail coverts are white. In Plain dress, the beak is dark brown. The body bottom then has no stains, only at the sides of the chest, there are gray-brown spots. The body top is uniformly brown. The young birds resemble the adult birds in simplicity dress.
The beak is bright orange with a black tip.
Distribution area
The Spotted Sandpiper breeds from Alaska to the southern coast of Hudson Bay and from there to the coast of Labrador. Its preferred habitat is the shores of rivers and lakes, and the coastal zone. He is an obligatory migratory pulling on the coast of the southwestern United States to Central America, the Caribbean and South America during the winter months.
Way of life
The Spotted Sandpiper eats mainly terrestrial invertebrates, which he pecks the ground. If he pursues prey, he recalls in his hunting way to a small heron. He takes a slightly hunched posture and then suddenly picked for its prey. On the coast of the Spotted Sandpiper is mainly on the drift line of the sea along and pecks there to invertebrates and other food that are swept by the waves to the shore. Wintering birds also eat fish and crabs.
During the winter months Spotted Sandpiper occasionally form small squads. They breed on the other hand individually. You enter into a monogamous or polyandrous relationships that exist only one breeding season. What is unusual about this type is that the females compete for the males is. The nest is a shallow Nistmulde, which is designed with plant material. The male usually built several such Nistmulden, the female then selects the trough, into which she deposits the eggs. The nests usually consist of three to five eggs. These are cream-colored and have reddish brown spots on. In monogamous relationships, both parents are involved in the breeding birds, in polyandrous relationships, however, broods the males alone. The incubation period is 21 to 22 days.
Etymology and History of Research
Carl Linnaeus described the throttle Sandpiper Tringa under the name macularia. It was only in 1811 hit him Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger to the new genus Actitis.
The word " Actitis " comes from the word " aktitēs, ACT ακτιτες, ακτε " from for " coastal residents, coastal ". The epithet " macularius " is of Latin origin and is derived from the word " macula " for " stains " from.