Dunlin
Calidris alpina (Linnaeus, 1758)
The dunlin (Calidris alpina), also called Lapland dunlin or Red-backed sandpiper, is a bird in the family Scolopacidae of the order Charadriiformes. It is a small, migratory bird of wetland habitat, with an adult body mass of 51.89 g (up to 57.12 g) and a wingspan of 36 cm.
Quick facts about the dunlin
The dunlin is a carnivore in the aquatic predator diet category, with a terrestrial lifestyle. It lays a clutch of 4 eggs once per year, incubated for 21.4 days, and is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- 51.9 g – 57.1 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 36 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 19.8 years – 28.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 21.4 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 20.9 months – 2 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the dunlin?
Photos of the dunlin
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the dunlin live?
Not recorded
What is the dunlin?
The dunlin (Calidris alpina) is a small wader in the genus Calidris. The English name is a dialect form of "dunling", first recorded in 1531–1532. It derives from dun, "dull brown", with the suffix -ling, meaning a person or thing with the given quality.
It is a circumpolar breeder in Arctic or subarctic regions. Birds that breed in western Europe are short-distance migrants largely staying on western and southern European and northwest African coasts; those breeding in far northern Europe and Asia are long-distance migrants, wintering south to Africa, southeast and west Asia. Birds that breed in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic migrate short distances to the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America, although those nesting in northern Alaska overwinter in Asia.
From the Wikipedia article “Dunlin” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dunlin&oldid=1384448396), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the dunlin sound like?
Is the dunlin endangered?
The dunlin is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species.
How is the dunlin classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyScolopacidae
- genusCalidris
- SpeciesCalidris alpina (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Aerolia varia, Calidris variabilis, Ereunetes alpina, Erolia alpina, Pelidna alpina, Tringa torquatus, Tringa variabilis
Other names and names in other languages (121)
- Lapland dunlinEnglish
- Red-backed sandpiperEnglish
- BontstrandloperAfrikaans
- دريجة رهيزArabic
- الطيطوى الداكنةArabic
- دريجة ألبيةArabic
- دريجة الألبArabic
- طيطوي الداكنArabic
- BarderoAragonese
- mazaricuAsturian
- Qaradöş qumluq cüllütüAzerbaijani
- Вялікі кіркунBelarusian
- Кіркун вялікіBelarusian
- Вялiкi кiркунBelarusian
- Алпийски брегобегачBulgarian
- Тъмногръд брегобегачBulgarian
- ডানলিনBangla
- Sourouc'han boutinBreton
- territ variantCatalan
- Хура пӗсехеллӗ ҫыран кайӑкӗChuvash
- jespák obecnýCzech
- BiegôczKashubian
- Pibydd mawnWelsh
- pibydd y mawnWelsh
- Pibyddion y MawnWelsh
- almindelig ryleDanish
- AlpenstrandläuferGerman
- Alpen-StrandläuferGerman
- ΛασποσκαλίδραGreek
- ΛασπονεραλλίδιGreek
- Bunta kalidroEsperanto
- nigraventra kalidroEsperanto
- Correlimos comúnSpanish
- Correlimos PechinegroSpanish
- Playero de Vientre NegroSpanish
- Playero dorso rojoSpanish
- Playero espaldicoloradoSpanish
- SoorislaEstonian
- SoorüdiEstonian
- soorüdi e. soorislaEstonian
- Txirri arruntBasque
- تلیله شکم سیاهPersian
- suosirriFinnish
- FjallmurraFaroese
- Bécasseau variableFrench
- bécasseau de LaponieFrench
- StönerkNorthern Frisian
- Bûnte GrilWestern Frisian
- BreacóIrish
- breacógScottish Gaelic
- gille-feadaigScottish Gaelic
- gillean-feadaigScottish Gaelic
- grailleagScottish Gaelic
- GrailligScottish Gaelic
- pollaranScottish Gaelic
- Pilro comúnGalician
- Breckag hraieManx
- Breck ny TraieManx
- Chululu'iGuarani
- Bekasin vant nwaHaitian Creole
- חופית אלפיניתHebrew
- žalar cirikavacCroatian
- havasi partfutóHungarian
- Կտցար սևախածիկArmenian
- Kedidi BelangIndonesian
- AiviukakInuktitut
- LóuþrællIcelandic
- heidarlaupaIcelandic
- LóußrællIcelandic
- Piovanello pancianeraItalian
- ハマシギJapanese
- შავჩიჩახვა მექვიშიაGeorgian
- saarfaarsorlakKalaallisut
- Қаратєс құмдаыықKazakh
- Қаратөс құмдауықKazakh
- 민물도요Korean
- Kyogh morCornish
- AlpesandleeferLuxembourgish
- Juodkrūtis bėgikasLithuanian
- juodakrūtis bėgikasLithuanian
- parastais šņibītisLatvian
- обичен свиркачMacedonian
- Северен песочен свиркачMacedonian
- ഡൺലിൻMalayalam
- Beggazzina tat-tiżżMaltese
- Хар элсэгMongolian
- Burung Kedidi DunlinMalay
- myrsnipeNorwegian Bokmål
- bonte strandloperDutch
- Snepi AlpinoPapiamento
- Aloehéte éd mérPicard
- biegus zmiennyPolish
- ڈنلنWestern Panjabi
- pilrito-comumPortuguese
- pilrito-de-peito-pretoPortuguese
- Rivarel alpinRomansh
- fugaci de ţărmRomanian
- Fugaci de țărmRomanian
- ЧернозобикRussian
- Алпскый писочникRusyn
- JeaggecovzošNorthern Sami
- čáhpesčoavjevirošNorthern Sami
- ČáhppesčoavjiNorthern Sami
- pobrežník čiernozobýSlovak
- spremenljivi prodnikSlovenian
- gjelaci barkziAlbanian
- gjelëza gushëzezëAlbanian
- Obicni blataricSerbian
- Црнотрба спруткаSerbian
- Crnotrba sprutkaSerbian
- kärrsnäppaSwedish
- นกชายเลนท้องดำThai
- karakarinli kumkusuTurkish
- karakarınlı KumkuşuTurkish
- Кара-боостааTuvinian
- Побережник чорногрудийUkrainian
- Чорногрудий побережникUkrainian
- Dẽ trán trắngVietnamese
- 濱鷸Chinese
- 黑腹滨鹬Chinese
- 黑腹濱鷸Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the dunlin
Other species in the same genus Calidris.
Ruff
Calidris pugnax
Sanderling
Calidris alba
Red knot
Calidris canutus
Little stint
Calidris minuta
Temminck's stint
Calidris temminckii
Curlew sandpiper
Calidris ferruginea
CompareDunlin vs RuffDunlin vs SanderlingDunlin vs Red knotDunlin vs Little stint
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the dunlin?
The dunlin is a bird in the family Scolopacidae and the order Charadriiformes. It is a small, migratory species.
How heavy is a dunlin?
An adult Dunlin has a body mass of 51.89 g, with values up to 57.12 g reported. Its wingspan is 36 cm.
What does the dunlin eat?
The dunlin is a carnivore in the aquatic predator diet category.
Is the dunlin endangered?
No. The dunlin is listed as Near Threatened (NT) in the global IUCN assessment, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
How long does a dunlin live?
The dunlin has a lifespan of 19.75 years, with values up to 28.83 years reported.
How many eggs does a dunlin lay?
The dunlin lays a clutch of 4 eggs, with 1 clutch per year. Incubation lasts 21.4 days.
Who named the dunlin?
The scientific name Calidris alpina is credited to (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Dunlin (Calidris alpina). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/dunlin
“Dunlin (Calidris alpina).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/dunlin.
@misc{dunlin_2026,
title = {Dunlin (Calidris alpina)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/dunlin},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}