# Curlew Sandpiper

*Calidris ferruginea*

To fuel its epic 15,000-kilometer migration, this bird can nearly double its body weight in fat before departing on its non-stop oceanic flights.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Charadriiformes › Scolopacidae › Calidris
- **IUCN Red List status:** Near Threatened
- **Population trend:** decreasing
- **Biome:** wetland
- **Habitat:** Arctic tundra during breeding; coastal lagoons, estuaries, intertidal mudflats, and saltpans during migration and winter.
- **Diet:** Mainly insects and their larvae during breeding; polychaete worms, mollusks, and small crustaceans during migration.
- **Range:** Siberia, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Australia, Western Europe
- **Size:** Length: 18-23 cm, Wingspan: 38-41 cm, Weight: 40-90 g
- **Lifespan:** Typically 5-10 years, with some individuals reaching over 15 years.
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Reclamation of coastal wetlands (particularly in the Yellow Sea stopover region), climate change altering Arctic breeding habitats, and coastal development.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. Observe from a safe distance of at least 50 meters, especially using binoculars or a spotting scope. Avoid walking through feeding flocks on mudflats, as disturbing them wastes precious energy needed for their immense migrations. Keep pets on a leash.

## About

The curlew sandpiper ( Calidris ferruginea ) is a small wader that breeds on the tundra of Arctic Siberia. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris , a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific ferruginea is from Latin ferrugo, ferruginis , "iron rust" referring to its colour in breeding plumage.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/dcdfc801-f76a-42f4-85cf-91d43dbe9504
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/3863
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calidris ferruginea
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/2029308/medium.jpg (Nigel Voaden, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.