Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)

County List:

Rule:

Mixed Forested/Nonforested or Nonforested Landscapes

Migration Habitat 1st alternative:
      (Lake or Pond or River)
   adjacent to:
      Shorelines/Mudflats 

Migration Habitat 2nd alternative:
      (Lake or Pond or River)
   adjacent to:
      Marsh 2 - grasses and sedges 

Migration Habitat 3rd alternative:
      Sedge Meadow

Habitat List:

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Literature:

This is one of the "grasspipers", more likely to be seen in grassy marshes or wet fields than on open mudflats. Its spring migration is mostly through the Great Plains, with small numbers east to the Atlantic.

Habitat: In migration, prairie pools, muddy shores, fresh and tidal marshes; in summer, tundra. Migrants favor grassy places rather than open mudflats. Often seen along grassy edges of shores, at edges of tidal marsh, in flooded fields or wet meadows. Sometimes on dry prairie or even plowed fields. On breeding grounds, favors wet grassy areas of tundra.

Diet: Mostly insects. Diet not well known. On breeding grounds, feeds mostly on insects, especially flies and their larvae, also beetles and others. Also eats amphipods, spiders, some seeds. Diet in migration may include small crabs and other crustaceans, plus other aquatic invertebrates, but insects may still be main food.