Common Sandpiper

Common sandpipers have an extensive distribution extending from western Europe across Asia to Japan and southward to Africa and Australia. During spring and summer they breed mainly across the temperate Northern Hemisphere. Breeding adults have brownish-gray heads, napes, and breasts with fine darker streaking, while the belly and undertail are plain white. Their darker brown backs, wings, and tails are mottled with tan, and a pale eye-ring is often visible. Plumage becomes duller following the post-breeding molt (Animal Diversity Web).

These active shorebirds search coastlines and other waterside margins for small invertebrates, crustaceans, aquatic and terrestrial insects, worms, and spiders. They may also scavenge scraps near boats or shore and occasionally consume tadpoles, small amphibians, fish, or seeds. A bird locates prey while running along the margin, then runs, swims, or dives to capture it. Common sandpipers reproduce seasonally, lay eggs, and produce relatively well-developed chicks that receive care from both parents (Animal Diversity Web).