Sanderling
Calidris alba
- Least concern
- Card rarity: Common
- Birds
The sanderling is a small wading bird. It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, being among the most extreme northern breeding birds in the world, nesting only on the coldest tundra, north of the 5°C July isotherm; in Europe, its southernmost breeding locality is Svalbard, where only a handful (5–15) pairs breed. It is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, western and southern Europe, Africa, and Australia. It is highly gregarious in winter, sometimes forming large flocks on coastal mudflats or sandy beaches.
Classification
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Calidris