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Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) Alternate name(s): "Summer Snipe" Size: 19-21 cm; wing span 35-41 cm Weight: 33-70 g

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Common Sandpipers are small waders. Their plumage is cryptic. When seen in Australia, they are in eclipse plumage. During the non-breeding season they have a whitish throat, light grey-brown upper chest with darker grey-brown sides, while the rest of the front, including shoulder bars, is white. The sides of the head are grey-brown, with a darker eye stripe and crown and a lighter eyebrow and cheeks and ear coverts. The nape of the neck is also grey-brown. The back, including the wings, is darker grey-brown, with a faint light-brown bar pattern that is also visible on the sides of the tail. In-flight they show a broad white wing bar and white terminal spots on the outer tail feathers. During the breeding season, the sides of the head and the neck show more streaking, while the bar pattern on the back and wings becomes bolder and more prominent, with more brown hues visible than grey. The eyes have dark irises. The grey bill is straight and a bit longer than the size of the head. The legs and feet are olive-grey. In flight the feet do not protrude beyond the tip of the tail. Juveniles roughly resemble non-breeding adults, but they have a crisper, tidier plumage. Twitcher's tip Compared with Green Sandpipers, Common Sandpipers are smaller, have visible white shoulder bars and in-flight show white wing bars. A photo taken in Oman showing the two species together in non-breeding plumage is available HERE. The correct identification of waders ("shorebirds"), e.g. of the Calidris, Tringa, Actitis and related families or of the Charadrius, Pluvialis and related genera in the field can be quite tricky. We have therefore made an attempt to give some advice HERE.

Taxonomy, classification See Common Sandpiper at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Common Sandpiper is available HERE . Common Sandpipers are a migratory species that can be seen in flocks during migration. They breed across most of temperate and subtropical Europe and Asia and spend the northern winters in Africa, southern Asia and Australia. In Australia Common Sandpipers migrate from the North around the entire coastal fringe of the continent. They settle mostly in the western part of the tropical North of the NT, along the Australian West coast and in southern SA, VIC and the South coast of NSW; they are also found along the coastline of Tasmania. After substantial rainfall they will venture further into the semi-arid interior - basically anywhere except the driest part of the continent, i.e. the major sandy deserts of eastern WA, the south-western NT, the western half of SA, and the Nullarbor. In Australia Common Sandpipers are usually found along beaches, but also along river banks and in intertidal wetlands, sometimes also on rocks.

Sightings Click here for sighting information We first spotted a pair of Common Sandpipers at Lee Point, Darwin, NT, in August 2014. Various contributors report spotting Common Sandpipers in different locations along the coastline of Darwin, NT, semi-regularly. J. Greaves reports spotting a Common Sandpiper at Yellow Water billabong, Kakadu NP, NT, in November 2014. J. Greaves also reports finding a Common Sandpiper at Salter Point, Canning River, Perth, in January 2017. We have previously also seen Common Sandpipers in Oman.

Photos

ADULT

BREEDING

Near-frontal view of a Common Sandpiper in fresh breeding plumage on a rockface (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Nightcliff, Darwin, NT, March 2013]

Near-frontal view of a Common Sandpiper in fresh breeding plumage spreading its wings, giving a clear view of the underwing pattern (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Nightcliff, Darwin, NT, March 2013]

NON-BREEDING

Frontal view from above of a Common Sandpiper in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[East Point, Darwin, NT, December 2017]

Near-lateral view from above of a Common Sandpiper in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[East Point, Darwin, NT, December 2017]

Lateral view of a Common Sandpiper in non-breeding plumage on a rockface
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, August 2014]

Lateral view from above of a Common Sandpiper in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[East Point, Darwin, NT, December 2017]

Near-dorsal view from above of a Common Sandpiper in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[East Point, Darwin, NT, December 2017]

Dorsal view from above of a Common Sandpiper in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[East Point, Darwin, NT, December 2017]

Dorsal view of a Common Sandpiper in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Salter Point, Canning River, Perth, January 2017]

More photos were taken by us in Oman.

Behaviour

Common Sandpipers are not "wading waders", but tend to stay on land, by the water's edge, going after e.g. flies. They are well-known for bobbing their tails, which proved to be a major loss of potentially good photos during the course of our observations...

Common Sandpiper in non-breeding plumage in an intertidal wetland (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, March 2018]

Common Sandpiper in non-breeding plumage on huge boulders (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, March 2018]

Food, Diet

We have seen Common Sandpipers take flies from the fringes of water courses, where they had sat down to drink water (see here).

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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