From Opus

Photo by Dave Hutton
Photo taken: Farmoor Reservior, Oxfordshire, England

Calidris alba

[edit] Identification

Length 20-21 cm, mass 41-102 g. A relatively small wader with a straight, stubby, black bill and a dark carpal ("shoulder") patch. Upper parts are pale grey above and under parts white. The legs are black and of medium length.

[edit] Distribution

Breeds in the far-northern Holarctic (concentrations in Canada, Greenland and Siberia); non-breeding range is worldwide. A summer visitor to Britain.

[edit] Taxonomy

Monotypic^[1]; some authorities^[2] recognise two subspecies.

[edit] Habitat

Coasts.

[edit] Behaviour

Forages in flocks on beaches, usually in moist sand. The diet includes crustaceans, small marine worms, insects, fish and molluscs.

3-4 eggs are laid in a ground scrape.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
2. Engelmoer, M and CS Roselaar. 1998. Geographical Variation in Waders. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht. ISBN 9780792350200.
3. Hockey, PAR, WRJ Dean, and PG Ryan, eds. 2005. Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa. 7th ed. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 978-0620340533
4. RSPB
5. Sinclair, I and P Ryan. 2003. Birds of Africa South of the Sahara. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0691118154

• List of references

[edit] External Links