Baird's Sandpiper

Calidris bairdii

Playero de Baird

A small brown sandpiper, slightly larger than the common Semipalmated and Western Sandpipers. The breast is buffier than in those two species, and the wing tips extend farther beyond the tail. Length: 14-18 cm.; weight: 32-63 g. Breeds on the Arctic tundra of eastern Siberia, Alaska and Canada. Winters in southern South America. Rare fall and spring migrant on St. Croix and elsewhere in the West Indies. It may occur in wetlands on Puerto Rico, but is easily confused with other small shorebirds.

TAXONOMY: CHARADRIIFORMES; SCOLOPACIDAE; Scolopacinae

References

Begazo, A. J. 1992. Observations of the Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) and Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii) in Puerto Rico. El Pitirre 5(1):3.

Bent, A.C. 1927. Life histories of North American shore birds, part 1. Smithsonian Instit. U.S. National Museum Bull. 142. (Reprinted by Dover Press, NY, 1962).

Borowik, O. A. and D. A. McLennan. 1999. Phylogenetic patterns of parental care in calidridine sandpipers. Auk 116(4):1107-1117.

del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal, eds. 1996. Handbook of Birds of the World, Vol. 3. Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Hayman, P., J. Marchant, and T. Prater. 1986. Shorebirds: an identification guide. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.

Moskoff, W., and R. Montgomerie. 2002. Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii). In The Birds of North America, No. 661 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

Paulson, D. 1993. Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest. Univ Washington, Seattle.

Pérez-Rivera, R. A. 1987. Additional records and notes on migratory water birds in Puerto Rico, West Indies. Carib. J. Sci. 23:368-372.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. Una guía a las aves de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. Publishing Resources, Inc., Santurce, PR.

Raffaele, H.A., J.W. Wiley, O.H. Garrido, A.R. Keith, and J.I. Raffaele. 1998. Guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton.

Robbins, M. B. and J. K. Alderfer. 2000. "Mystery sandpiper" revisited: Buff-breasted or hybrid. Birding 32:535-539.

Linking Migratory Shorebird Habitats: The Power of Stable Isotopes:
http://www.mesc.usgs.gov/resources/spotlight/shorebird_isotopes/isotopes_home.asp

Baird's Sandpiper, Spanish text

Next related species in taxonomic order

Previous related species in taxonomic order

Back to Species Selection Page Menu

Return to first page of the CD-ROM