Purple sandpiper
Calidris maritima (Brünnich, 1764)
The purple sandpiper (Calidris maritima) is a species in the family Scolopacidae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 65.1 g to 76.3 g and live up to 20.4 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
_..._Filey_Brig_,_Yorkshire_(53266204391).jpg){kind=link}
Quick facts about the purple sandpiper
- Weight
- 65.1 g – 76.3 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 44 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 20.4 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 20.8 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 21.8 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 3 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
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the purple sandpiper?
Where does the purple sandpiper live?
Not recorded
What is the purple sandpiper?
The purple sandpiper (Calidris maritima) is a small shorebird in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae. This is a hardy sandpiper that breeds in the arctic and subarctic regions of Eurasia and North America and winters further south on the Atlantic coast.
From the Wikipedia article “Purple sandpiper” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Purple_sandpiper&oldid=1347425637), 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 purple sandpiper endangered?
The purple 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.
How is the purple sandpiper classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyScolopacidae
- genusCalidris
- SpeciesCalidris maritima (Brünnich, 1764)
Synonyms Arquatella maritima, Arquatella maritima maritima, Calidris maritima belcheri, Calidris maritima littoralis, Calidris maritima maritima, Charadrius maritima, Ereunetes maritimus, Erolia maritima, Pelidna maritima, Strepsilas littoralis, Tringa maritima, Tringa striata
Other names and names in other languages (74)
- Rockweed birdEnglish
- Winter snipeEnglish
- دريجة بحريةArabic
- Mazaricu de PedreuAsturian
- mazaricu los pedrerosAsturian
- Марскі пясочнікBelarusian
- Пясочнік марскіBelarusian
- Марскi пясочнiкBelarusian
- Морски брегобегачBulgarian
- Sourouc'han duBreton
- territ foscCatalan
- Corriol foscCatalan
- jespák mořskýCzech
- pibydd duWelsh
- Pibyddion DuWelsh
- sortgrå ryleDanish
- MeerstrandläuferGerman
- Meer-StrandläuferGerman
- ΒραχοσκαλίδραGreek
- mara kalidroEsperanto
- Playero OscuroSpanish
- Correlimos oscuroSpanish
- MeririslaEstonian
- MerirüdiEstonian
- merirüdi e. meririslaEstonian
- merisirriFinnish
- GrælingurFaroese
- GrágrælingurFaroese
- Bécasseau violetFrench
- Gobadan cosbhuíIrish
- Gobadáinín cosbhuíIrish
- Luatharan gormScottish Gaelic
- gobadán cosbhuíScottish Gaelic
- Luatharan rioghailScottish Gaelic
- Pilro escuroGalician
- Pilro cinsentoGalician
- Looyran gorrymManx
- Leayrane gorrymManx
- חופיתHebrew
- חופית ימיתHebrew
- morski žalarCroatian
- tengeri partfutóHungarian
- SendlingurIcelandic
- Piovanello violettoItalian
- ムラサキハマシギJapanese
- saarfaarsukKalaallisut
- Тењіз құмдауықKazakh
- Pyber ruthlasCornish
- jūrinis bėgikasLithuanian
- jūras šņibītisLatvian
- Beggazzina tan-NordMaltese
- Тэнгисийн элсэгMongolian
- paarse strandloperDutch
- fjæreplyttNorwegian Nynorsk
- FjøreplyttNorwegian Nynorsk
- biegus morskiPolish
- pilrito-escuroPortuguese
- Rivarel violetRomansh
- Морской песочникRussian
- Песочник морскойRussian
- GáddevirošNorthern Sami
- fierváčoavžžuNorthern Sami
- FiervávirošNorthern Sami
- pobrežník morskýSlovak
- morski prodnikSlovenian
- Морски жаларSerbian
- Morska sprutkaSerbian
- skärsnäppaSwedish
- mor kum kuşuTurkish
- Далай кудуруктуг элезинчиTuvinian
- Морський побережникUkrainian
- Побережник морськийUkrainian
- 紫滨鹬Chinese
- 紫濱鷸Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the purple 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
ComparePurple sandpiper vs RuffPurple sandpiper vs SanderlingPurple sandpiper vs DunlinPurple sandpiper vs Red knot
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the purple sandpiper?
An adult purple sandpiper weighs 65.1 g – 76.3 g and has a wingspan of 44 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the purple sandpiper endangered?
The purple sandpiper is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the purple sandpiper live?
The purple sandpiper has a recorded lifespan of 20.4 years.
What kind of animal is the purple sandpiper?
The purple sandpiper (Calidris maritima) 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). Purple sandpiper (Calidris maritima). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/purple-sandpiper
“Purple sandpiper (Calidris maritima).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/purple-sandpiper.
@misc{purple_sandpiper_2026,
title = {Purple sandpiper (Calidris maritima)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/purple-sandpiper},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}