Actitis
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| Illiger , 1811 |
Actitis (German: Uferläufer ) is a genus in the family of snipe birds. It contains only two recent species, one of which is common in the Palearctic and the other in the Nearctic .
Appearance
An adult Sandpiper is up to 22 centimeters tall and reaches a wingspan of up to 40 centimeters. It weighs 40 to 80 grams. The red sandpiper is slightly smaller and reaches a body length of 18 to 20 centimeters. The wingspan is 37 to 40 centimeters. The weight varies between 25 and 60 grams.
Both species have a gray-brown upper side of the body, a striking white stripe over the eyes and a dark stripe that stretches over the eye to the ear patch. In the sandpiper, the sides of the front chest are gray and clearly set off from the otherwise white underside of the body. The red sandpiper has a noticeably dark brown mottled underside. The beaks of both species are straight and only slightly longer than the head.
Distribution area
The common sandpiper breeds in Europe and Asia from Great Britain to Japan. The sandpiper breeds from Alaska to the south coast of the Hudson Bay and from there to the coast of Labrador.
In Central Europe only the common sandpiper occurs. Its stocks have continuously declined since the 19th century, so that in many regions only a few remaining deposits have remained. The breeding success of these partially isolated residual populations is too low to ensure continuity without immigration. In comparatively undisturbed and natural water bodies, especially in alpine and sub-alpine areas, the stocks have been largely stable for decades. In some Central European regions there are also increases again. The common sandpiper has resettled in the Netherlands since the 1990s. It breeds in newly created protected areas along rivers. In parts of Hungary and Slovakia, too, it has been shown that, for example, it colonizes newly created opencast mining waters and reservoirs very quickly.
Way of life
The Actitis species mainly eat insects. They are brought out from the surface of the ground, but also between crevices or stones. Both species sneak up on moving prey in a way that is reminiscent of the way herons hunted.
Both species are ground breeders that build a well-hidden ground nest, mostly near water. The nest of sandpipers usually consists of four large, brownish eggs with numerous dark spots and spots. The clutch of the bluebird consists of three to five light reddish-brown eggs. In the common sandpiper, both parent birds breed, in the common sandpiper only if it is a monogamous couple relationship. Sandpiper are partially polyandric and in this case the female leaves the breeding area after laying eggs. Here the male then raises the young birds.
supporting documents
literature
- Hans-Günther Bauer, Einhard Bezzel and Wolfgang Fiedler (eds.): The compendium of birds in Central Europe: Everything about biology, endangerment and protection. Volume 1: Nonpasseriformes - non-sparrow birds. Aula-Verlag Wiebelsheim, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-89104-647-2 .
- Richard Sale: A Complete Guide to Arctic Wildlife , published by Christopher Helm, London 2006, ISBN 0-7136-7039-8
Single receipts
- ^ A b c Richard Sale: A Complete Guide to Arctic Wildlife, p. 216
- ↑ Hans-Günther Bauer, Einhard Bezzel and Wolfgang Fiedler (eds.): The compendium of birds in Central Europe: Everything about biology, endangerment and protection. Volume 1: Nonpasseriformes - non-sparrow birds, p. 493 and p. 494
- ↑ Hans-Günther Bauer, Einhard Bezzel and Wolfgang Fiedler (eds.): The compendium of birds in Central Europe: Everything about biology, endangerment and protection. Volume 1: Nonpasseriformes - non-sparrow birds, p. 494
