COMMON SANDPIPER

Photographed on Langkawi, April 2017

(* 508)                     COMMON SANDPIPER                   Actitis hypoleucos

MALAYSIA                 37

Found in many habitats, including coasts, wet rice fields, rivers, ditches, and even concrete lined drains. 20 cm. Migrant to Malaysian Peninsula, but seen all months.

COMMON SANDPIPER

Photographed March 2017

(*     508)                     COMMON SANDPIPER                   Actitis hypoleucos 

SRI LANKA                  43

 Found in many types of wetlands, including water and rocky habitats. 19-21 cm. Fairly common winter migrant throughout Sri Lanka.

COMMON SANDPIPER

Photographed in Kathmandu, Nepal, March 2017

(*  508)                 COMMON SANDPIPER                 Actitis hypoleucos

NEPAL               146

Often on small small waterbodies: pools and streams, rivers, lakes and marshes. 19-21 cm. Common and widespread, winter visitor.

  

COMMON SANDPIPER

Photographed in Singapore November 2016

(see  508)              COMMON SANDPIPER                Actitis hypoleucos

SINGAPORE        (12)      

Highly adaptable migrant to sandy shores, coastal mudflats, freshwater marshes, wet grassland and concrete canals. 20 cm. Breeds across much of Eurasia, from W Europe to E Siberia and Japan, as far south as Middle East; winters Africa, Middle East and Indian sub-continent, east to S China, South-east Asia, Australia and SW Pacific.

COMMON SANDPIPER

Photographed in Denpasar, Bali October 2016

(see  508)                COMMON SANDPIPER              Actitis hypoleucos

INDONESIA (Bali)          (15)

Found wherever water is nearby, from tidal mudflats and sandy shores, to inland reservoirs and rivers. 20 cm. Breeds in northern and central Eurasia; winters south to Australia, common, widespread migrant, mainly from August to April, throughout Indonesia.

COMMON SANDPIPER

Photographed at Altona, Victoria February 2015

508           COMMON SANDPIPER           Actitis hypoleucos

Australia           (350)

19-22 cm. Breeds from British Isles to e. Siberia and n. Japan: winters s. Europe, Africa, India, s. and se. Asia to Indonesia, PNG, vagrant to NZ, regular, widespread but uncommon visitor to Australia; all Aust, except driest inland. Found in shallow, pebbly, muddy or sandy edges of rivers and streams, coastal to far inland; dams, lakes, sewerage farms, margins of tidal rivers, waterways in mangroves or salt marshes, mudflats, rocky or sandy beaches, causeways, riverside lawns, drains, street gutters.

COMMON SANDPIPER

446          COMMON SANDPIPER             Actitis hypoleucos

South Africa        (110)

18-20 cm. Breeds across most of temperate and sub-tropical Europe and Asia, and migrates to Africa, southern Asia and Australia in winter. It forages picking up insects, crustaceans and other invertebrates. In the Nukumanu Islands the sandpiper is called matakakoni, a taboo name when women and children are around because it means 'bird that walks a little, then copulates'; this is a reference to its head thrusting and tail-pumping as it forages.