Details
Actitis hypoleucos
A small sandpiper that bobs its tail along water edges, breeding in Eurasia and wintering from Africa to Australia.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
Lives along rivers, lake shores, ponds, marshes, tidal flats, and rocky coasts, especially freshwater margins during breeding.
Brown upperparts contrast with white underparts, with a white shoulder notch. Flight is low and direct with a pale wing stripe.
Usually solitary, it walks along water edges while bobbing the body and tail, searching narrow strips of shore.
Insects, crustaceans, worms, mollusks, and small invertebrates are picked from shallow water and mud surfaces.
Hidden ground nests are placed near freshwater. Precocial chicks feed along shorelines under parental guidance.
Migrants may appear even on urban rivers, but natural shallow edges and cover remain important.
