Sanderling

Sanderlings have an exceptionally broad distribution. They breed in the Arctic and spend the nonbreeding season along ocean and sea coasts between approximately 50 degrees north and 50 degrees south. Wintering birds are most characteristic of sandy beaches, where they follow advancing and retreating waves, but they also use mudflats, lagoons, rocky intertidal areas, inland lake beaches, prairie potholes, and saline flats. Adults are about 18 to 20 centimeters long and weigh between 40 and 100 grams. (Animal Diversity Web)

On tundra breeding grounds, sanderlings chiefly eat insects gathered beside ponds and streams, particularly crane flies, midges, and mosquitoes. During migration and winter they take small crustaceans, bivalves, polychaete worms, insects, and amphipods. They frequently gather in compact flocks and are well known for running rapidly along the surf zone. Their mating arrangements vary from monogamy to polyandry or polygyny. A typical clutch contains four eggs, incubation lasts 23 to 32 days, and some birds produce two clutches in a season. (Animal Diversity Web)