Appearance

Appearance

About 7–8 in (18–20 cm) long, it has black legs and a short, straight black bill. Winter birds are pale gray above and white below.

Seasonal forms

Breeding birds have rusty mottling on the head, back, and breast.

Look-alikes

DunlinCalidris alpina

A Dunlin (Calidris alpina) has a longer bill that droops at the tip. A Sanderling has a shorter, straighter bill and a cleaner white belly in winter.

Why they get mixed up · Both are small gray shorebirds in winter.

Images coming soon

Least SandpiperCalidris minutilla

A Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) is smaller and has yellow legs. A Sanderling has black legs and a stouter, straighter bill.

Why they get mixed up · Both are small sandpipers along wet shorelines.

Where it lives

Typical habitats

• sandy ocean beaches
• tidal flats

Range

In the United States they use Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coast beaches; migrants also stop at inland waters. They breed in Arctic Canada and rarely in Alaska.

Seasonal presence

A migrant and winter visitor on most U.S. coasts.

Behavior

Diet

On U.S. beaches it eats small shellfish, worms, and Atlantic horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) eggs.

Activity

It runs after receding waves and searches the wet sand.

Life cycle

Nest

In the Arctic, the nest is a shallow hollow on the ground.

Connected species

Prey

• Atlantic horseshoe crabLimulus polyphemus

  During spring migration at Delaware Bay, Sanderlings eat this crab's eggs.

Conservation

IUCN Red List

LCLeast Concern·Low risk of extinction

Status

U.S. monitoring reports a substantial long-term decline.