Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos - some photos and notes

Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos

Ethiopia
January 2016

The Common Sandpiper breeds throughout most of Europe and much of central and northern Asia. It is mainly migratory and most European birds fly south to southern Africa in July returning to their breeding grounds in April and May. See the distribution map at Birdlife International.

It is brown above with a distinctive white gap between the wings and the breast. It has a long tail and fairly short, greenish-grey legs.

It normally looks crouched and often bobs the rear of its body up and down. Its flight is distinctive with shallow, rapid beats interrupted by short glides on stiff, downward bent wings. These show a conspicuous white wing bar.

It breeds near fresh water in clear lakes or rivers but outside the breeding season also visits standing water, ditches, pools, coastal lagoons, rocky shores and harbours. It is mainly solitary and feeds largely on insects which it normally picks from the ground rather than probing the ground like many other waders.

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