Birds in the family Scolopacidae include all the world’s sandpipers as well as birds such as godwits, curlews, snipes, dowitchers, willets, stints, and more.
We know these as familiar ‘shorebirds.’ They haunt coastal habitats from autumn through spring (Oct to Apr, or so). But in summer most of them migrate long distances to breed in the highest temperate latitudes or in the Arctic.
Learn about sandpiper diversity, evolution, feeding, and more in this episode.
Sanderling (Calidris alba) in non-breeding plumage. Photo by Brian Lasenby/Adobe.
Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis). The world's largest member of the sandpiper family. Photo by Mauritius Images/Alamy.
Whimbrels, Willets, and Marbled Godwits in Baja California, Mexico. Photo by Ivan Phillipsen.
Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea). One the world's most endangered shorebirds. Photo by kajornyot/Adobe.
Tuamotu Sandpiper (Prosobonia parvirostris). An endangered, nectarivorous species. Photo by Pete Morris/Alamy.
Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica). Some individuals of this species fly more than 7,000 miles nonstop on their migrations. Photo by Menno Schaefer/Adobe.
