CreatureData

Spotted sandpiper

Actitis macularius (Linnaeus, 1766)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularius) is a species in the family Scolopacidae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 36.9 g to 47.3 g and live up to 12 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularius)
Photo: No machine-readable author provided · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the spotted sandpiper

Weight
36.9 g – 47.3 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
37 cm – 40 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
12 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
20.5 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
1.76src 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 spotted sandpiper?

SPOTTED SANDPIPER · WINGSPAN 40 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 40 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the spotted sandpiper is about 24% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the spotted sandpiper live?

Not recorded

What is the spotted sandpiper?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularius) is a small shorebird. Together with its sister species the common sandpiper (A. hypoleucos), it makes up the genus Actitis. They replace each other geographically; stray birds may settle down with breeders of the other species and hybridize.

From the Wikipedia article “Spotted sandpiper” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spotted_sandpiper&oldid=1380705852), 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 spotted sandpiper endangered?

The spotted sandpiper is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the spotted sandpiper classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyScolopacidae
  6. genusActitis
  7. SpeciesActitis macularius (Linnaeus, 1766)

Synonyms Actites macularia, Actitis lunata, Actitis macularia, Actitis macularia macularia, Actitis macularia macularia, Actitis macularis, Totanus macularius, Tringa maculacia, Tringa macularia, Tringa macularia, Tringa macularia macularia

Other names and names in other languages (78)
  • DipperEnglish
  • SpottyEnglish
  • Teeter-peepEnglish
  • TeeterpeepEnglish
  • Tip-upEnglish
  • Weather birdEnglish
  • طيطوي منقطArabic
  • Петнист кюкавецBulgarian
  • Bistroll brizhellekBreton
  • xivitona maculadaCatalan
  • Oisík americkýCzech
  • pisík americkýCzech
  • Pibydd BrychWelsh
  • Pibyddion BrychWelsh
  • plettet mudderklireDanish
  • DrosseluferläuferGerman
  • Κηλιδωτός ΑκτίτηςGreek
  • makula tringoEsperanto
  • Punkta tringoEsperanto
  • AlzacolitaSpanish
  • Andarríos maculadoSpanish
  • Andarríos manchadoSpanish
  • PirrisaSpanish
  • Playerito ManchadoSpanish
  • Playero alzacolitaSpanish
  • Playero coleadorSpanish
  • Playero manchadoSpanish
  • ameerika vihitaja e. ameerika jõgitilderEstonian
  • Ameerika vihitajaEstonian
  • یلوه خالمخالیPersian
  • amerikansipiFinnish
  • AmerikanrantasipiFinnish
  • FlekkustelkurFaroese
  • Chevalier griveléFrench
  • Gobadán breacIrish
  • Gobadán ballachIrish
  • Batmargcf
  • Bilurico maculadoGalician
  • Leayrane breckManx
  • Mbatui mbataraGuarani
  • Bekasin zèl tranbleHaitian Creole
  • ביצנית נקודהHebrew
  • בצנית ברודהHebrew
  • pjegava prutkaCroatian
  • pettyes cankóHungarian
  • pettyes billegetőcankóHungarian
  • DílastelkurIcelandic
  • Piro piro macchiatoItalian
  • Piro-piro macchiatoItalian
  • アメリカイソシギJapanese
  • Demetasis krantinis tilvikasLithuanian
  • dėmėtasis krantinis tilvikasLithuanian
  • punktainā tilbīteLatvian
  • Amerikas upes tilbīteLatvian
  • Tábąąsdísí áłtsʼíísíNavajo
  • flekksnipeNorwegian Bokmål
  • Amerikaanse oeverloperDutch
  • Jiidawenh (Jiichiishkishii)Ojibwa
  • Snepi Barika PintáPapiamento
  • brodziec plamistyPolish
  • maçarico-pintadoPortuguese
  • maçarico-maculadoPortuguese
  • MuyusikiQuechua
  • Privaun ticlàRomansh
  • Пятнистый перевозчикRussian
  • AmerihkágáddevirošNorthern Sami
  • dielkogáddevirošNorthern Sami
  • dielkovirošNorthern Sami
  • kalužiačik škvrnitýSlovak
  • ameriški mali martinecSlovenian
  • Pegava polojkaSerbian
  • fläckdrillsnäppaSwedish
  • amerikansk drillsnäppaSwedish
  • Benekli DüdükçünTurkish
  • набережник плямистийUkrainian
  • 斑鷸Chinese
  • 斑腹矶鹬Chinese
  • 斑腹磯鷸Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the spotted sandpiper

Other species in the same genus Actitis.

CompareSpotted sandpiper vs Common sandpiperSpotted sandpiper vs Actitis balcanica

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the spotted sandpiper?

An adult spotted sandpiper weighs 36.9 g – 47.3 g and has a wingspan of 37 cm – 40 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the spotted sandpiper endangered?

The spotted sandpiper is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the spotted sandpiper live?

The spotted sandpiper has a recorded lifespan of 12 years.

What kind of animal is the spotted sandpiper?

The spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularius) 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.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularius). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/spotted-sandpiper

MLA

“Spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularius).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/spotted-sandpiper.

BibTeX
@misc{spotted_sandpiper_2026,
  title = {Spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularius)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/spotted-sandpiper},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}