Spotted sandpiper
Actitis macularius (Linnaeus, 1766)
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.

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?
Where does the spotted sandpiper live?
Not recorded
What is the spotted sandpiper?
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.
- 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 spotted sandpiper classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyScolopacidae
- genusActitis
- 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.

Common sandpiper
Actitis hypoleucos
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.
- 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). Spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularius). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/spotted-sandpiper
“Spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularius).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/spotted-sandpiper.
@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}
}