{{Short description|Species of bird}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Use British English|date=May 2026}} {{About|the bird}} {{Speciesbox | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2024 |title=''Calidris alba'' |article-number=e.T22693369A154671400 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T22693369A154671400.en}}</ref> | image = Sanderling (Calidris alba) in Breeding Plumage in the Delaware Bay - Heislerville WMA - Cumberland County - New Jersey - May 2026.jpg | image_caption = Breeding plumage, Heislerville Wildlife Management Area, New Jersey | image2 = Sanderling (Calidris alba) starting to get breeding plumage, Heislerville WMA, New Jersey, USA.png | image2_caption = Winter plumage, Hesilerville WMA, New Jersey | genus = Calidris | species = alba | authority = (Pallas, 1764) | range_map = Calidris alba map.svg | range_map_caption = {{leftlegend|#FF7F2A|Breeding}}{{leftlegend|#FFDD55|Migration}}{{leftlegend|#5F8DD3|Nonbreeding}} | synonyms = *''Charadrius calidris'' {{small|Linnaeus, 1766}} *''Crocethia alba'' {{small|(Pallas, 1764)}}<ref group=note>{{harvp|Kirwan et al.|2008}} in ''The Birds of Turkey'' spell this alternative genus ''Crocerthia''</ref> *''Erolia alba'' {{small|(Pallas, 1764)}} }} [[File:Sanderlings-oiso-kanagawa-japan-2023-10-11.webm|thumb|Sanderlings in Kanagawa, Japan]]
The '''sanderling''' ('''''Calidris alba''''') is a small wading bird. It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, being among the most extreme northern breeding birds in the world, nesting only on the coldest tundra, north of the 5°C July isotherm;<ref name="Cramp">{{cite book | last=Cramp | first=Stanley | title=Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa: Waders to gulls | publisher=Oxford university press | publication-place=Oxford London New York | date=1983 | isbn=0-19-857506-8 | pages=282–293}}</ref> in Europe, its southernmost breeding locality is Svalbard, where only a handful (5–15) pairs breed.<ref name="Cramp"/> It is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, western and southern Europe, Africa, and Australia. It is highly gregarious in winter, sometimes forming large flocks on coastal mudflats or sandy beaches.
It is somewhat unlike other small sandpipers in appearance, in particular in lacking a hind toe,<ref name="Shorebirds">{{cite book | last1=Hayman | first1=Peter | last2=Marchant | first2=John | last3=Prater | first3=Tony | title=Shorebirds | publisher=Croom Helm | publication-place=London | date=1986 | isbn=0-7099-2034-2 | page=365–366}}</ref> which has led to the suggestion that it should be placed into a monotypic genus ''Crocethia''. More recent reviews indicate that the sanderling is a fairly typical "stint" or small sandpiper and should be retained along with the knots and other relatives in the genus ''Calidris''.<ref name="Černý">{{cite journal | last1=Černý | first1=David | last2=Natale | first2=Rossy | date=2022 | title=Comprehensive taxon sampling and vetted fossils help clarify the time tree of shorebirds (Aves, Charadriiformes) | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=177 | article-number=107620 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107620| pmid=36038056 | bibcode=2022MolPE.17707620C | url=https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2021/07/16/2021.07.15.452585.full.pdf }}</ref>
This bird is similar in size to a dunlin, but stouter, with a thick bill. It shows a strong white wingbar in flight, and runs along the sandy beaches it prefers with a characteristic "bicycling" action of its legs, stopping frequently to pick small food items. It eats small crabs and other small invertebrates. In spring, birds migrating north from South America consume large numbers of horseshoe crab eggs in the Delaware Bay area.
In spring, the birds arrive on their High Arctic breeding grounds (see map) at the end of May or in early June, where they lay 3–4 eggs in a ground scrape from mid June to mid July.<ref name="Cramp"/> On the nesting grounds, these birds mainly eat insects and some plant material.
The sanderling was described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name ''Trynga alba''.<ref>{{ cite book | last1=Peters | first1=James Lee | author-link=James L. Peters | year=1934 | title=Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 2 | volume=2 | publisher=Harvard University Press | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=281 (''Crocethia alba'') | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14483094 }}</ref><ref>{{ cite journal | last=Sherborn | first=C. Davies | year=1905 | title=The new species of birds in Vroeg's catalogue, 1764 | journal=Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections | volume=47 | pages=332–341 [341 No. 320] | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8812106 }} Includes a transcript of the 1764 text.</ref><ref>{{ cite journal | last1=Rookmaaker | first1=L.C. | last2=Pieters | first2=F.F.J.M. | year=2000 | title=Birds in the sales catalogue of Adriaan Vroeg (1764) described by Pallas and Vosmaer | journal=Contributions to Zoology | volume=69 | issue=4 | pages=271–277 | doi=10.1163/18759866-06904005 | url=http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/571856 | doi-access=free }}</ref>
The sanderling is one of the species to which the ''Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds'' (AEWA) applies.
==Description== The sanderling is a small plump sandpiper, {{convert|18|–|20|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} in length. Its weight ranges from {{convert|40|–|100|g|oz|frac=2|abbr=on}}. The winter bird is very pale, almost white apart from a dark shoulder patch. This is the source of the specific name, ''alba'', which is the Latin for "white". Later in the summer, the face and throat become brick-red. The juvenile bird is spangled black and white, and shows much more contrast than the adult.
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 87%;" |- ! colspan="2" | Standard Measurements<ref name=BOC /><ref name=Sibley /> |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | length || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|7.1|-|8.7|in|mm|abbr=on|order=flip}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | wingspan || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|17|in|mm|abbr=on|order=flip}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | weight || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|60|g|oz|abbr=on}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | wing || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|114.5|-|121.6|mm|in|abbr=on}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | tail || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|47.3|-|53|mm|in|abbr=on}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | culmen || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|22.5|-|26.6|mm|in|abbr=on}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | tarsus || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|23.5|-|25.8|mm|in|abbr=on}} |}
If its size is misjudged, a sanderling in breeding plumage can be mistaken for some varieties of stint, or a sanderling in winter plumage can be mistaken for a dunlin or red knot. It can be told from other small wading birds, given good views, by its lack of a hind toe. Its behaviour is also distinctive.
== Distribution, habitat and migration == right|thumb|300px|Sanderlings at Ocean Beach, San Francisco The sanderling breeds in the High Arctic areas of North America, Europe and Asia. In North America, it breeds in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Nunavut, Greenland (and to a lesser extent Alaska). In Eurasia, it breeds in Spitsbergen and areas of northern Russia from the Taymyr Peninsula to the New Siberian Islands. In the northern winter, it has a nearly cosmopolitan distribution across the world's marine coasts. It is a complete migrant, travelling between {{convert|3000|to|10000|km|mi|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} from its breeding grounds to its wintering sites. Birds that travel further also arrive later and leave sooner. Most adults leave the breeding grounds in July and early August, whereas juvenile birds leave in late August and early September. The northward migration begins in March at the southern end of their winter distribution.<ref name=BNA/>
The breeding habitat of the sanderling is coastal tundra north of {{convert|5|C|F|abbr=on}} July isotherm. The species typically chooses nesting sites on dry stony areas near wet areas, from {{convert|60 to 800|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} above sea level. During the winter and its migration, it is most commonly found on coastal sandy beaches, but also occurs on tidal sand flats, mud flats and the shores of lakes and rivers. More infrequently, it may occur on rocky shores.<ref name=BNA/> ==Taxonomy and etymology== The sanderling's name derives from the Old English ''sand-yrðling'', "sand-ploughman".<ref name=OED>{{Cite OED |Sanderling }}</ref> The genus name is from {{langx|grc|καλίδρις}} : {{grc-tr|καλίδρις}} or {{lang|grc|σκαλίδρις}} : {{grc-tr|σκαλίδρις}}, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The species name, ''alba'', is Latin for "white".<ref name=job>{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/helmdictionarysc00jobl_997 | url-access= limited | publisher=Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/helmdictionarysc00jobl_997/page/n40 40], 84}}</ref>
The sanderling consists of two subspecies: *''C. a. alba'', <small>(Pallas, 1764)</small>, breeds on Ellesmere Island, north & east Greenland, Svalbard, Franz Josef Land and the Taymyr Peninsula *''C. a. rubida'', <small>(Gmelin, 1789)</small>, breeds in northeast Siberia, Alaska and northern Canada
==Behaviour==
===Feeding behaviour=== right|thumb|Sanderling feeding Sanderlings feed on invertebrate prey buried in the sand in the upper intertidal zone. In North America, this diet largely consists of the isopods ''Excirolana linguifrons'', ''Excirolana kincaidii'', and the mole crab, ''Emerita analoga''. When the tide is out, these crustaceans live in burrows some way beneath the surface. When the tide comes in, they move into the upper layers of sand and feed on the plankton and detritus that washes over them with each wave. They then burrow rapidly down again as the water retreats. They leave no marks on the surface, so the sanderlings hunt for them by plunging their beaks into the sand at random, consuming whatever they find. Their bills can penetrate only {{convert|2|or|3|cm|in|abbr=on}} and as the water swirls around and retreats, the sand is softer; this makes it easier for the birds' beaks to penetrate further. In the spring, when much breeding activity is taking place in the benthic community, there may be as many as 4000 invertebrates per square metre, but their average size is smaller than later in the year. The birds appear to rush madly around at the edge of the surf, but in reality they are maximising their chances of catching as many prey animals as possible when they are at their most vulnerable near the surface.<ref name=Schultz1990/>
===Breeding behaviour=== At breeding time sanderlings are territorial, with the male aggressively defending its territory. They may either form monogamous pairs or polyandrous (one female and two male) pairings.<ref name="BNA"/>
== Health and diseases == In 2024, a mortality event affecting sanderlings was documented along the Atlantic coast of the United States, notably in Virginia, caused by the clade 2.3.4.4b highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1). Infected individuals showed severe lesions in the brain and pancreas, leading to rapid death. This was one of the few detailed records of avian influenza pathology in migratory shorebirds.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Andreasen |first1=Victoria A. |last2=Phillips |first2=Emily G. |last3=O'Reilly |first3=Aidan M. |last4=Stilz |first4=C. Robert |last5=Poulson |first5=Rebecca L. |last6=Boettcher |first6=Ruth |last7=Tracey |first7=John K. |last8=Nemeth |first8=Nicole M. |date=2025-07-12 |title=Clade 2.3.4.4b Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 Pathology in a Common Shorebird Species (Sanderling; Calidris alba) in Virginia, USA |journal=Animals |language=en |volume=15 |issue=14 |page=2057 |doi=10.3390/ani15142057 |doi-access=free |issn=2076-2615|pmc=12291917 }}</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery> File:Sanderling-11MAY2017.JPG|Sanderling in Monterey, California File:Sanderling (Calidris alba) breeding plumage.jpg|Breeding plumage, Farmoor Reservoir, Oxfordshire File:Sanderling (Calidris alba).jpg, Amrum.jpg|Sanderling on the island of Amrum, Schleswig-Holstein File:Sanderling-floreana.jpg|Floreana Island, Galapagos Islands File:Calidris-alba-001.jpg|Running File:Sanderlings (72649).jpg|Sanderlings feeding in Quogue, New York File:SanderlingsRunningFromWavesCropped.jpg|A flock displaying their distinctive behaviour of running with the ebb and flow of waves (while feeding). Willapa Bay, near Tokeland, Washington. File:Sanderlings running in Lima Perú.jpg|A large flock Sanderlings Running in Lima, Peru File:Sanderling from the Crossley ID Guide Britain and Ireland.jpg|ID composite </gallery>
==Notes==
===Footnotes=== {{Reflist|group=note}}
===References=== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=BOC>{{cite book |last=Godfrey |first=W. Earl |date=1966 |title=The Birds of Canada |location=Ottawa |publisher=National Museum of Canada |pages=164–165}}</ref> <ref name=BNA>{{cite journal |url=https://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/653 |title=Sanderling (''Calidris alba'') |last1=Macwhirter |first1=Bruce |first2=Peter Jr. |last2=Austin-Smith |first3=Donald |last3=Kroodsma |year=2002 |journal=The Birds of North America Online |location=Ithaca |publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology |access-date=29 April 2009 |doi=10.2173/bna.653|url-access=subscription }}</ref> <ref name=Sibley>{{cite book |last=Sibley |first=David Allen |author-link=David Allen Sibley |date=2000 |title=The Sibley Guide to Birds |location=New York |publisher=Knopf |page=[https://archive.org/details/sibleyguidetobir00sibl_0/page/182 182] |isbn=0-679-45122-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/sibleyguidetobir00sibl_0/page/182 }}</ref> <ref name=Schultz1990>{{cite book |last=Schultz |first=Stewart T. |title=The Northwest Coast: A Natural History |year=1990 |publisher=Timber Press, Inc. |location=Portland, OR |pages=129–130 |isbn=978-1-4610-6076-5 }}</ref> }} {{refbegin}} * {{cite book |title=The Birds of Turkey |first1=Guy |last1=Kirwan |first2=Barbaros |last2=Demirci |first3=Hilary |last3=Welch |first4=Kerem |last4=Boyla |first5=Metehan |last5=Özen |first6=Peter |last6=Castell |first7=Tim |last7=Marlow |year=2008 |publisher=Helm |isbn=978-1-4081-0475-0 |ref={{harvid|Kirwan et al.|2008}} }} {{refend}}
==External links== <!-- CurrBiol17:R449. Micronesica38:221. --> {{Commons category|Calidris alba}} {{Wikispecies|Calidris alba}} * [http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/281.pdf Sanderling Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds] * {{InternetBirdCollection|sanderling-calidris-alba|Sanderling}} * [https://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Sanderling.html Sanderling Species Account] — Cornell Lab of Ornithology * [https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i2480id.html Sanderling - ''Calidris alba''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130222121118/http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i2480id.html |date=2013-02-22 }} — USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter * {{VIREO|sanderling}} * {{BirdLife|22693369|Calidris alba}} * {{Avibase|name=Calidris alba}} * {{NeotropicalBirds|sander|Sanderling}} * {{IUCN_Map|22693369/166254550|Calidris alba}} * {{Xeno-canto species|Calidris|alba|Sanderling}} * {{field guide birds of the world|Calidris alba}}
{{Scolopacidae|1}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q58958}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Calidris Category:Sandpipers Category:Birds of the Arctic Category:Birds of the Dominican Republic Category:Birds of the Caribbean Category:Cosmopolitan wintering birds Category:Birds described in 1764 Category:Taxa named by Peter Simon Pallas Category:Holarctic birds Category:Birds of the United States Category:Least concern biota of the United States Category:Least concern biota of North America