Sanderling
Calidris alba
Typical is its busy running back and forth along the water’s edge, following each retreating wave and dashing away from the next. In winter plumage it looks strikingly pale with a dark patch at the bend of the wing; it lacks a hind toe.
- Group
- Waders & Waterbirds
- Photos
- 1
- Taken
- 2026
Profile: Sanderling
- Family
- Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)
- Size
- approx. 18–21 cm
- Wingspan
- approx. 40–45 cm
- Weight
- approx. 45–65 g
- Habitat
- Sandy beaches outside the breeding season; breeds on the tundra of the high Arctic.
- Diet
- Small crustaceans, worms, insects and fly larvae picked up along the tideline; also plant matter in its Arctic breeding grounds.
- When to see
- Long-distance migrant; in Central Europe a passage migrant and winter visitor to the coast, mainly in the winter half-year, with small numbers present all year.
Learn more: Wikipedia · NABU (German)