Pointed tail sandpiper
| Pointed tail sandpiper | ||||||||||
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Pointed-tail sandpiper ( Calidris acuminata ) |
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| Calidris acuminata | ||||||||||
| ( Horsfield , 1821) |
The pointed tail sandpiper ( Calidris acuminata ) is a species from the family of snipe birds. The IUCN classifies the pointed-tailed sandpiper as harmless ( least concern ) and estimates the population at 160,000 sexually mature individuals.
Appearance
The pointed tail sandpiper reaches a size of 17 to 21 centimeters. The wingspan is 42 to 48 centimeters. The weight varies between 55 and 85 grams.
In their splendid dress , pointed-tail sandpipers have a chestnut-colored upper head that is dashed in black. A dark line runs from the eye to the beak, the ear covers are brownish. The rest of the head and the neck are cream-colored to pale brownish with fine brown dots. The front breast is pale reddish brown with dark brown spots. The spots are shaped like arrowheads on the underbust, the stomach and the flanks. The rest of the underside of the body is white. The trunk and the upper tail-coverts are dark brown like the middle tail feathers. The sides of the fuselage are spotted dark brown on a white background. The coat is dark brown, with the individual feathers lined with broad chestnut brown and pale reddish brown.
The beak is slightly bent downwards, it is dark brown at the tip and brightens to a yellow-brown towards the base. The iris is dark brown, the eye ring is whitish.
In the simple dress , the pointed-tail sandpipers are generally somewhat paler in color than in the magnificent dress. In particular, the arrow-shaped spots on the top of the body and the chestnut-colored feather hems on the underside of the body are missing. The young birds have a reddish-chestnut brown skull, the dotted lines on the head and neck are less pronounced. The front breast is pale chestnut colored, the dark spots are largely missing. The feathers on the top of the body have broad maroon hems. The downy dress of the chicks is reddish-brown and has black spots.
The range of the pointed-tailed sandpiper overlaps with that of the gray-chested sandpiper . These two types can be confused with one another, especially in a simple dress.
Distribution area
The range of the pointed tail sandpiper is limited to the east of Russia. Pointed tail sandpipers breed only in the north of Sacha between the Lena and Kolyma rivers . The pointed tail sandpiper is a migratory bird that migrates to New Guinea , Australia and New Zealand in the winter months. There he is mainly in swamp areas, estuaries and bays of the coast.
Way of life
The pointed-tailed sandpiper mainly eats the larvae of insects in spring. Adult insects also play a larger role in the diet in summer.
In the winter months, the pointed-tail sandpiper lives mostly sociable. He is often socialized with other sandpipers . The pointed-tailed sandpiper lives more solitary in the breeding areas, even if the nesting density is very high in some areas. The males are polygamous and mate with several females, each of which raises a clutch. The nest is found in damp places on the tundra and is well hidden between vegetation. The nest is a shallow hollow that is lined with plant material. The clutch consists of four eggs. These have an olive-brown skin and are speckled with dark brown. They are incubated by the female alone for 19 to 23 days. The chicks flee from the nest and are led by the female. They are fully fledged at around twenty days.
supporting documents
literature
- Richard Sale: A Complete Guide to Arctic Wildlife . Christopher Helm Publisher, London 2006, ISBN 0-7136-7039-8 .
Web links
- BirdLife factsheet on the pointed tail sandpiper
- Calidris acuminata inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
Single receipts
- ↑ BirdLife Factsheet on the pointed-tail sandpiper , accessed December 17, 2010
- ↑ Sale, p. 195