| Purple sandpiper | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Scolopacidae |
| Genus: | Calidris |
| Species: | C. maritima |
| Binomial name | |
| Calidris maritima (Brünnich, 1764) | |
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| Range ofC. maritima Breeding Resident Non-breeding Passage | |
| Synonyms | |
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Thepurple sandpiper (Calidris maritima) is a smallshorebird in the sandpiper familyScolopacidae. This is a hardy sandpiper that breeds in the arctic and subarctic regions of Eurasia and North America and winters further south on the Atlantic coast.
The purple sandpiper wasformally described in 1764 by the Danish zoologistMorten Thrane Brünnich and given thebinomial nameTringa maratina.[2] This species was formerly placed in the genusErolia,[3][4] but is now placed with 23 other sandpipers in the genusCalidris that was introduced in 1804 by the German naturalistBlasius Merrem.[5][6] The genus name is fromAncient Greekkalidris orskalidris, a term used byAristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific epithetmaritima is fromLatin and means "of the sea", frommare, "sea".[7] The purple sandpiper is treated asmonotypic: nosubspecies are recognised.[6] Within the genusCalidris the purple sandpiper issister to therock sandpiper (Calidris ptilocnemis) and is closely related to thesanderling (Calidris alba) and thedunlin (Calidris alpina).[8]
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Adults have short yellow legs and a medium thin dark bill with a yellow base. The body is dark on top with a slight purplish gloss and mainly white underneath. The breast is smeared with grey and the rump is black. They measure 20–22 cm (7.9–8.7 in) in length and 42–46 cm (17–18 in) across the wings, and weight is from 50–105 g (1.8–3.7 oz).[9]
| Standard Measurements[10][11] | |
|---|---|
| Total Body Length | 210–240 mm (8.1–9.5 in) |
| Weight | 70 g (2.5 oz) |
| Wingspan | 430 mm (17 in) |
| Wing | 117.9–130 mm (4.64–5.12 in) |
| Tail | 55.9–63 mm (2.20–2.48 in) |
| Culmen | 27.2–32 mm (1.07–1.26 in) |
| Tarsus | 22–23.8 mm (0.87–0.94 in) |
The purple sandpiper's breeding range extends from the arctic islands of northern Canada, eastwards to Greenland, Iceland,Svalbard and northern Scandinavia across toWestern Siberia and theTaymyr Peninsula. In the high arctic the sandpiper breeds at low altitude on the tundra, sometimes far from the coastline, but in the subarctic regions of Sweden and Norway it breeds on barren mountain sides near the limit of the frozen ground. Birds breeding at high latitudes migrate south and spend the winter on rocky shores on both sides of the north Atlantic. They winter along the North America coast as far south as South Carolina and on the eastern Atlantic coast as far south as France and northern Iberia.[12]
Birds wintering in northern Scotland and southwest Ireland migrate to Canada (Baffin Island andDevon Island) to breed.[13]
In Britain, these birds occur in winter in good numbers principally along the east and south coasts, where they favour rocky shorelines adjacent to the sea.[citation needed] It is much rarer as a breeding bird, found only in a localised area of theCairngorms National Park, where 1–3 pairs have bred since 1978. Records of breeding by this species in the UK are monitored and archived by theRare Breeding Birds Panel.[14][15]
They are latemigrants and move to rocky, ice-freeAtlantic coasts in winter.[citation needed] Most go no further south thanNorth Carolina and northernPortugal. They are fairly gregarious, forming small flocks, often withruddy turnstones. This species is tame and approachable.[16]
Their breeding habitat is the northerntundra onArctic islands inCanada and coastal areas inGreenland and northwesternEurope. They can breed at one year of age. The male makes several scrapes on the ground; the female chooses one and lays 3 or 4 eggs. These are olive with brown blotches and are approximately 37 mm × 26 mm (1.5 in × 1.0 in) in size. The male takes the major responsibility for incubation of the eggs which hatch in 21–22 days.[17] The chicks are covered with dense down. The upperparts have black and cinnamon patches with white specks; the underparts are mainly white.[18] Usually only the male tends the chicks which can feed themselves.[17] The maximum age recorded fromring-recovery data in Europe is 20 years and 9 months for a bird recovered in Sweden.[19]
An apparent case ofhybridization between this species and thedunlin has been reported fromEngland.[20]
These birds forage on rocky coasts, picking up food by sight.[21] They mainly eat arthropods and molluscs, mainlylittorinids andmussels, also some plant material. One of the main staples areseaweed flies of theCoelopa genera (C. frigida).[22]
The purple sandpiper has an extremely large range and although the population appears to be decreasing, the population is very large. TheInternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has judged that the threat to the species is of "Least concern".[1] The purple sandpiper is one of the species to which theAgreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.[23]
