Solitary Sandpiper
| Solitary Sandpiper | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Scolopacidae |
| Genus: | Tringa |
| Species: | T. solitaria |
| Binomial name | |
| Tringa solitaria (Wilson, 1813) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Helodromas solitarius | |
The Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) is a small wader (shorebird).
Description
This species measures 18–23 cm (7.1–9.1 in) long, with a wingspan up to 50 cm (20 in) and a body mass of 31–65 g (1.1–2.3 oz).[2][3] It is a dumpy wader with a dark green back, greyish head and breast and otherwise white underparts. It is obvious in flight, with wings dark above and below, and a dark rump and tail centre. The latter feature distinguishes it from the slightly larger and broader-winged, but otherwise very similar, Green Sandpiper of Europe and Asia, to which it is closely related.[4] The latter species has a brilliant white rump. In flight, the Solitary Sandpiper has a characteristic three-note whistle. They both have brown wings with little light dots, and a delicate but contrasting neck and chest pattern. In addition, both species nest in trees, unlike most other scolopacids.
Distribution and habitat
It breeds in woodlands across Alaska and Canada. It is a migratory bird, wintering in Central and South America, especially in the Amazon River basin, and the Caribbean. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.
Behaviour
The Solitary Sandpiper is not a gregarious species, usually seen alone during migration, although sometimes small numbers congregate in suitable feeding areas. The Solitary Sandpiper is very much a bird of fresh water, and is often found in sites, such as ditches, too restricted for other waders, which tend to like a clear all-round view.
Breeding
The sandpiper lays a clutch of 3–5 eggs in abandoned tree nests of songbird species, such as those of thrushes. The young birds are encouraged to drop to the ground soon after hatching.[5]
Feeding
Food is small invertebrates, sometimes small frogs, picked off the mud as the bird works steadily around the edges of its chosen pond.
References
WilsonBull18:47 (migration data - compare to current Ohio checklist http://www.ohiobirds.org/publications/OBRClist.pdf) -->
- ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Tringa solitaria". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ↑ (2011).
- ↑ CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), ISBN 978-0-8493-4258-5.
- ↑ Pereira, Sérgio Luiz; Baker, Allan J. (2005). "Multiple Gene Evidence for Parallel Evolution and Retention of Ancestral Morphological States in the Shanks (Charadriiformes: Scolopacidae)". The Condor 107 (3): 514. doi:10.1650/0010-5422(2005)107[0514:MGEFPE]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0010-5422.
- ↑ Federation of Alberta Naturalists. (1992) Glen P. Semenchuk (ed.). The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Alberta. Edmonton, AB:Federation of Alberta Naturalists.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Solitary Sandpiper. |
 |
Wikispecies has information related to: Tringa solitaria |
- Solitary Sandpiper - Tringa solitaria - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Solitary Sandpiper Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Tringa solitaria on Avibase
- Solitary Sandpiper videos, photos, and sounds at the Internet Bird Collection
- Solitary Sandpiper photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)