SPOTTED SANDPIPER

 1383                 SPOTTED SANDPIPER                    Actitis macularius

USA              37

The spotted sandpiper is a small shorebird. Together with its sister species the common sandpiper (A. hypoleucos), it makes up the genus Actitis. They replace each other geographically; stray birds may settle down with breeders of the other species and hybridize. Spotted sandpipers are a philopatric species.[8] Their breeding habitat is near fresh water across most of Canada and the United States. They migrate to the southern United States, the Caribbean, and South America, and are very rare vagrants to western Europe. These are not gregarious birds and are seldom seen in flocks. Spotted sandpipers are the most widespread species of their kind in North America due to their high breeding rates and their ability to adapt to various environmental pressures

These birds forage on the ground or in water, picking up food by sight. They may also catch insects in flight. They eat insects (such as flies, beetles, grasshoppers, mayflies, midges, crickets and caterpillars), crustaceans and other invertebrates (such as spiders, snails, other molluscs, and worms), as well as small fish and carrion. As they forage, they can be recognized by their constant nodding and teetering.