Pectoral sandpiper
Calidris melanotos (Vieillot, 1819)
The pectoral sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) is a species in the family Scolopacidae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 65.1 g to 97.8 g and live up to 5.9 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the pectoral sandpiper
- Weight
- 65.1 g – 97.8 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 37 cm – 45 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 5.9 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 5.92 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 22 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc 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
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the pectoral sandpiper?
Photos of the pectoral sandpiper
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the pectoral sandpiper live?
Not recorded
What is the pectoral sandpiper?
The pectoral sandpiper (Calidris melanotos), often abbreviated pec, is a small, migratory wader that breeds in arctic regions of North America and Asia, wintering in South America and Oceania. It eats small invertebrates. Its nest, a hole scraped in the ground and with a thick lining, is deep enough to protect its four eggs from the cool breezes of its breeding grounds. The pectoral sandpiper is 19–23 cm (7.5–9.1 in) long, with a wingspan of 38–46 cm (15–18 in).
From the Wikipedia article “Pectoral sandpiper” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pectoral_sandpiper&oldid=1348840754), 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.
Is the pectoral sandpiper endangered?
The pectoral sandpiper is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- 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 Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the pectoral sandpiper classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyScolopacidae
- genusCalidris
- SpeciesCalidris melanotos (Vieillot, 1819)
Synonyms Actodromas maculata, Calidris maculata, Ereunetes melanotos, Erolia maculata, Erolia melanotos, Heteropygia melanotos, Pisobia maculata, Pisobia melanotos, Tringa maculata, Tringa maculata, Tringa melanotos, Tringa melanotos
Other names and names in other languages (92)
- Pond birdEnglish
- GeelpootstrandloperAfrikaans
- دريجة سوداء الظهرArabic
- mazaricu americanuAsturian
- Du-du qumluqcaAzerbaijani
- Цветногръд брегобегачBulgarian
- Sourouc'han petralekBreton
- territ pectoralCatalan
- jespák skvrnitýCzech
- pibydd cainWelsh
- Pibyddion CainWelsh
- stribet ryleDanish
- Graubrust-StrandläuferGerman
- GraubruststrandläuferGerman
- ΠατσαλονεραλλίδιGreek
- Θωρακωτή σκαλίδραGreek
- StriokalidroEsperanto
- stribrusta kalidroEsperanto
- Playero pectoralSpanish
- Correlimos PechirrayadoSpanish
- Correlimos pectoralSpanish
- Playerito pecho grisSpanish
- Playerito pectoralSpanish
- Tin-güínSpanish
- Kiripugu-rislaEstonian
- Kiripugu-rüdiEstonian
- kiripugu-rüdi e. kiripugu-rislaEstonian
- Txirri pektoralBasque
- یلوه آمریکاییPersian
- palsasirriFinnish
- sjógrælingurFaroese
- SpølagrælingurFaroese
- Bécasseau tachetéFrench
- Bécasseau à poitrine cendréeFrench
- bécasseau de tachetéFrench
- Gobadán uchtachIrish
- Gobadán stríoc-uchtachIrish
- Dos rougegcf
- Luatharan gdoillichScottish Gaelic
- Pilro peitoralGalician
- Looyran brollaghManx
- Leayrane cleeauaghManx
- Chululu'iGuarani
- Bekasin fal nwaHaitian Creole
- חופיתHebrew
- חופית כהת חזהHebrew
- חופית כהת-חזהHebrew
- žalar šljukarCroatian
- vándorpartfutóHungarian
- Kedidi Dada-CoretIndonesian
- ShigeriakjukInuktitut
- AiviqiakInupiaq
- RákatítaIcelandic
- piro-piro pettoraleItalian
- Piovanello pettoraleItalian
- アメリカウズラシギJapanese
- Tweetwee-nyuakKalaallisut
- 아메리카메추라기도요Korean
- GrobroschtsandleeferLuxembourgish
- raibakrūtis bėgikasLithuanian
- tundras šņibītisLatvian
- വരിമാറൻ മണലൂതിMalayalam
- Tábąąsdísístłʼinii bitéél łikizhígííNavajo
- alaskasnipeNorwegian Bokmål
- gestreepte strandloperDutch
- Snepi Streip FiniPapiamento
- Snepi Pecho StrepiaPapiamento
- biegus arktycznyPolish
- پیکٹورل ریتپائیپرWestern Panjabi
- Pilrito-peitoralPortuguese
- maçarico-de-coletePortuguese
- pilrito-de-coletePortuguese
- Rivarel puppen grischRomansh
- Fugaci pătatRomanian
- AláskkávirošNorthern Sami
- pobrežník škvrnitýSlovak
- Prekmorski prodnikSlovenian
- prekomorski prodnikSlovenian
- Crnogruda sprutkaSerbian
- tuvsnäppaSwedish
- นกชายเลนอกลายThai
- Çizgili KumkuşuTurkish
- cizgili kum kuşuTurkish
- ДутишUkrainian
- ДутышUkrainian
- Побережник арктичнийUkrainian
- Choắt ngực đốmVietnamese
- 斑胸滨鹬Chinese
- 斑胸濱鷸Chinese
- 美洲尖尾濱鷸Chinese
- 美洲尖尾濱鷸〔斑胸濱鷸〕Chinese
- 美洲尖尾鷸Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the pectoral sandpiper
Other species in the same genus Calidris.
Ruff
Calidris pugnax
Sanderling
Calidris alba
Dunlin
Calidris alpina
Red knot
Calidris canutus
Little stint
Calidris minuta
Temminck's stint
Calidris temminckii
ComparePectoral sandpiper vs RuffPectoral sandpiper vs SanderlingPectoral sandpiper vs DunlinPectoral sandpiper vs Red knot
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the pectoral sandpiper?
An adult pectoral sandpiper weighs 65.1 g – 97.8 g and has a wingspan of 37 cm – 45 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the pectoral sandpiper endangered?
The pectoral sandpiper is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the pectoral sandpiper live?
The pectoral sandpiper has a recorded lifespan of 5.9 years.
What kind of animal is the pectoral sandpiper?
The pectoral sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) belongs to the family Scolopacidae in the order Charadriiformes.
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). Pectoral sandpiper (Calidris melanotos). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/pectoral-sandpiper
“Pectoral sandpiper (Calidris melanotos).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/pectoral-sandpiper.
@misc{pectoral_sandpiper_2026,
title = {Pectoral sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/pectoral-sandpiper},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}