Dunlin - BirdForum Opus

C. a. alpina summer adult
Photo by Steinn
Svalbard, Norway, 3 August 2012

Calidris alpina

Identification

L 17-21 cm (6¾-8¼ in), WS 32-36 cm.
Black bill, with de-curved tip
Breeding

• Crown and upperparts rufous, streaked darker
• Wings: greyish brown, with pale bar and dark tips
• White sides to rump and tail
• White breast with darker streaks

Juvenile
Photo by CJW
Smeale, Isle of Man, 31 July 2004

• Black belly
• White undertail coverts
  

Non-breeding

• Rufous areas become grey and belly all white
  

Juvenile

• Similar to summer adult above but fringes less rufous; underparts white with blackish streaks on flanks

Distribution

Breeding birds from northern Europe and Asia winter in Africa and southeast Asia. Those that have bred in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic move down to the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America.

Taxonomy

Most closely related to the Purple Sandpiper — Rock Sandpiper species pair, and after them, to Sanderling^[1].

Subspecies

Depending on authority, nine^[2] or ten^[3] subspecies are accepted:

• C. a. arctica:

• Northeastern Greenland; winters mainly northwestern Africa

• C. a. schinzii:

• Southeastern Greenland and Iceland to Britain and southern Scandinavia; winters from Britain to northwestern Africa

• C. a. alpina:

• Scandinavia to northwestern Russia; winters from Britain to Mediterranean

• C. a. centralis:

• North central to northeastern Russia; winters India (included in C. a. alpina by some authorities^[2])

• C. a. sakhalina:

• Far eastern Russia to Chukotsk Peninsula; winters China, Japan and Taiwan

• C. a. kistchinskii:

• Sea of Okhotsk to Kuril Islands; wintering grounds unknown

• C. a. actites:

• Northern Sakhalin; wintering grounds unknown

• C. a. arcticola:

• Northwestern Alaska and northwestern Canada; winters eastern China, Korea and JapanI

• C. a. pacifica:

• South-western Alaska; winters in western US and western Mexico

• C. a. hudsonia:

• Central Canada; winters south-eastern US and eastern Mexico

Juvenile in flight
Photo by mali
Elmley Marshes, Kent, September 2016

Habitat

Breeds on low or high ground, in wet short-grass or tundra habitats; on migration (in autumn, adults in late July-August, juveniles in late August-October), found in a variety of marshy or coastal habitats, but most numerous on tidal flats or on banks of seaweed on shallow shores.

Coastal mudflats and beaches.

Behaviour

They form huge winter flocks, mainly on tidal mudflats (less often in freshwater), often mixing with Ringed Plover, Red Knot, and other Calidris species.

Diet

The diet includes insects, snails and worms.

Breeding

They nest in a shallow scrape on the ground lined with vegetation. The 4 eggs are incubated by both adults. The male cares for the young.

Vocalisation

Song: a trill.
Flight Call: treep or chreet <flashmp3>Calidris alpina (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program

References

1. Gibson, R., & Baker, A. (2012). Multiple gene sequences resolve phylogenetic relationships in the shorebird suborder Scolopaci (Aves: Charadriiformes). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 64: 66-72.
2. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
3. Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2017. IOC World Bird Names (version 7.1). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
4. Avibase
5. Wikipedia
6. Collins Pocket Guide to British Birds 1966
7. Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728 6

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Dunlin. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 7 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Dunlin

External Links

Search for photos of Dunlin in the gallery

Search for videos of Dunlin on BirdForum TV