Scolopacidae
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Scolopacidae
Sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Different lengths of bills enable different species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food. Sandpipers have long bodies and legs, and narrow wings. Most species have a narrow bill, but otherwise the form and length are quite variable. They are small to medium-sized birds, measuring in length. The bills are sensitive, allowing the birds to feel the mud and sand as they probe for food. They generally have dull plumage, with cryptic brown, grey, or streaked patterns, although some display brighter colours during the breeding season. Most species nest in open areas, and defend their territories with aerial displays. The nest itself is a simple scrape in the ground, in which the bird typic ...
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Sandpiper Nest With Four Eggs
Sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Different lengths of bills enable different species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food. Sandpipers have long bodies and legs, and narrow wings. Most species have a narrow bill, but otherwise the form and length are quite variable. They are small to medium-sized birds, measuring in length. The bills are sensitive, allowing the birds to feel the mud and sand as they probe for food. They generally have dull plumage, with cryptic brown, grey, or streaked patterns, although some display brighter colours during the breeding season. Most species nest in open areas, and defend their territories with aerial displays. The nest itself is a simple scrape in the ground, in which the bird typic ...
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Curlew
The curlews () are a group of nine species of birds in the genus ''Numenius'', characterised by their long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. The English name is imitative of the Eurasian curlew's call, but may have been influenced by the Old French ''corliu'', "messenger", from ''courir '', "to run". It was first recorded in 1377 in Langland's Piers Plowman "''Fissch to lyue in þe flode..Þe corlue by kynde of þe eyre''". In Europe "curlew" usually refers to one species, the Eurasian curlew (''Numenius arquata''). Description They are one of the most ancient lineages of scolopacid waders, together with the godwits which look similar but have straight bills. Curlews feed on mud or very soft ground, searching for worms and other invertebrates with their long bills. They will also take crabs and similar items. Distribution Curlews enjoy a worldwide distribution. Most species show strong migratory habits and consequently one or more species can be en ...
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Numenius (bird)
The curlews () are a group of nine species of birds in the genus ''Numenius'', characterised by their long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. The English name is imitative of the Eurasian curlew's call, but may have been influenced by the Old French ''corliu'', "messenger", from ''courir '', "to run". It was first recorded in 1377 in Langland's Piers Plowman "''Fissch to lyue in þe flode..Þe corlue by kynde of þe eyre''". In Europe "curlew" usually refers to one species, the Eurasian curlew (''Numenius arquata''). Description They are one of the most ancient lineages of scolopacid waders, together with the godwits which look similar but have straight bills. Curlews feed on mud or very soft ground, searching for worms and other invertebrates with their long bills. They will also take crabs and similar items. Distribution Curlews enjoy a worldwide distribution. Most species show strong migratory habits and consequently one or more species can be ...
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Limosa
The godwits are a group of large, long-billed, long-legged and strongly migratory waders of the bird genus ''Limosa''. Their long bills allow them to probe deeply in the sand for aquatic worms and molluscs. In their winter range, they flock together where food is plentiful. They frequent tidal shorelines, breeding in northern climates in summer and migrating south in winter. A female bar-tailed godwit made a flight of 29,000 km (18,000 mi), flying of it without stopping. In 2020 a male bar-tailed godwit flew about non-stop in its migration from Alaska to New Zealand, previously a record for avian non-stop flight. In October 2022, a 5 month old, male bar-tailed godwit was tracked from Alaska to Tasmania, a trip that took 11 days, and recorded a non-stop flight of . The godwits can be distinguished from the curlews by their straight or slightly upturned bills, and from the dowitchers by their longer legs. The winter plumages are fairly drab, but three species have re ...
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Tringa
''Tringa'' is a genus of waders, containing the shanks and tattlers. The genus name ''Tringa'' is the New Latin name given to the green sandpiper by the Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi in 1599. They are mainly freshwater birds, often with brightly coloured legs as reflected in the English names of six species, as well as the specific names of two of these and the green sandpiper. They are typically associated with northern hemisphere temperate regions for breeding. Some of this group—notably the green sandpiper—nest in trees, using the old nests of other birds, usually thrushes. The willet and the tattlers have been found to belong in ''Tringa''; these genus changes were formally adopted by the American Ornithologists' Union in 2006. The present genus in the old, more limited sense was even further subdivided into ''Tringa'' proper and ''Totanus'', either as subgenera or as full genera. The available DNA sequence data suggests however that neither of these is monophyl ...
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Actitis
''Actitis'' is a small genus of waders, comprising just two very similar bird species. Taxonomy The genus ''Actitis'' was introduced in 1811 by the German zoologist Johann Illiger. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''aktites'', "coast-dweller" from ''akte'', "coast". The type species is the common sandpiper. The genus is sister to the genus ''Tringa'' that contains the shanks and the tattlers. The genus contains two species: * Common sandpiper, ''Actitis hypoleucos'', of Eurasia * Spotted sandpiper, ''Actitis macularia'' of North America Description These are both small migratory waders, greyish brown on top and white underneath, with a distinctive stiff-winged flight low over the water. The plumages are very similar, apart from spotted sandpipers' distinctive breeding plumage, and suspected out-of-range vagrants must be carefully observed for identification to species. Both species have short yellow or yellowish legs and a medium bill. These are not gregarious birds and ...
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Lymnocryptes
The jack snipe or jacksnipe (''Lymnocryptes minimus'') is a small stocky wader. It is the smallest snipe, and the only member of the genus ''Lymnocryptes''. Features such as its sternum make it quite distinct from other snipes or woodcocks. Etymology The common name has been said to come from the Welsh word for a snipe, ''giach'' (pronounced with a hard ''g''), but modern dictionaries say it comes from the masculine name Jack. Alfred Newton hypothesized that, "It may be, as in Jackass, an indication of sex, for it is a popular belief that the Jack-Snipe is the male of the common species; or, again, it may refer to the comparatively small size of the bird, as the 'jack' in the game of bowls is the smallest of the balls used, and as fishermen call the smaller Pikes Jacks." The genus name ''Lymnocryptes'' is from Ancient Greek ''limne'', "marsh" and ''kruptos'', "hidden". The species name '' minimus '' is from Latin and means "smallest". Description Adults are smaller than co ...
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Snipe
A snipe is any of about 26 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and cryptic/camouflaging plumage. The ''Gallinago'' snipes have a nearly worldwide distribution, the ''Lymnocryptes'' snipe is restricted to Asia and Europe and the ''Coenocorypha'' snipes are found only in the outlying islands of New Zealand. The four species of painted snipe are not closely related to the typical snipes, and are placed in their own family, the Rostratulidae. Behaviour Snipes search for invertebrates in the mud with a "sewing-machine" action of their long bills. The sensitivity of the bill is caused by filaments belonging to the fifth pair of nerves, which run almost to the tip and open immediately under the soft cuticle in a series of cells; a similar adaptation is found in sandpipers; this adaptation give this portion of the surface of the premaxillaries a honeycomb-like appearance: w ...
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Terek Sandpiper
The Terek sandpiper (''Xenus cinereus'') is a small migratory Palearctic wader species and is the only member of the genus ''Xenus''. It is named after the Terek River which flows into the west of the Caspian Sea, as it was first observed around this area. Taxonomy The Terek sandpiper was formally described and illustrated in 1775 by the German naturalist Johann Anton Güldenstädt under the binomial name ''Scolopax cinerea''. He reported that he had seen pairs breeding at the mouth of the Terek River where it flows into the Caspian Sea. It is now the only species placed in the genus ''Xenus'' that was introduced in 1829 by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup. The genus name ''Xenus'' is from Ancient Greek ''xenos'' meaning "stranger"; the specific epithet ''cinereus'' is Latin for "ash-grey" from ''cinis, cineris'', "ashes". The species is considered to be monotypic, no subspecies are recognised. Among the Scolopacidae, ''Xenus'' is part of the shank- tattler-phalarope c ...
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Gallinago
''Gallinago'' is a genus of birds in the wader family Scolopacidae, containing 18 species. Taxonomy The name ''Gallinago'' was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 as a subdivision of the genus ''Scolopax''. Brisson did not use Carl Linnaeus's binomial system of nomenclature and although many of Brisson's genera had been adopted by ornithologists, his subdivision of genera were generally ignored. Instead, the erection of the genus ''Gallinago'' for the snipes was credited to the German zoologist Carl Ludwig Koch in a book published in 1816. But in 1920 it was discovered that the German naturalist Johann Samuel Traugott Frenzel had erected the genus ''Capella'' for the snipes in 1801. As his publication predated Koch's use of ''Gallinago'' it took precedence. The American Ornithologists' Union switched to ''Capella'' in 1921 and in 1934 the American ornithologist James L. Peters used ''Capella'' for the woodcocks in his influential ''Check-list of B ...
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Coenocorypha
The austral snipes, also known as the New Zealand snipes or tutukiwi, are a genus, ''Coenocorypha'', of tiny birds in the sandpiper family (biology), family, which are now only found on New Zealand outlying islands, New Zealand's outlying islands. There are currently three living species and six known extinct species, with the Subantarctic snipe having three subspecies, including the Campbell Island snipe discovered as recently as 1997. The genus was once distributed from Fiji, New Caledonia and Norfolk Island, across New Zealand and southwards into New Zealand's subantarctic islands, but predation by introduced species, especially rats, has drastically reduced their range. Taxonomy and range The relationship between ''Coenocorypha'' snipe and the snipes of the genus ''Gallinago'' is uncertain. ''Coenocorypha'' is sometimes thought to be a relict taxon of an ancient lineage;Tennyson, A., & Martinson, P. (2006). ''Extinct Birds of New Zealand''. Te Papa Press, Wellington . however ...
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Arenaria (bird)
Turnstones are two bird species that comprise the genus ''Arenaria'' in the family Scolopacidae. They are closely related to calidrid sandpipers and might be considered members of the tribe Calidriini. The genus ''Arenaria'' was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson Mathurin Jacques Brisson (; 30 April 1723 – 23 June 1806) was a French zoologist and natural philosopher. Brisson was born at Fontenay-le-Comte. The earlier part of his life was spent in the pursuit of natural history; his published works ... in 1760 with the ruddy turnstone (''Arenaria interpres'') as the type species. The genus name ''arenaria'' is from Latin ''arenarius'', "inhabiting sand", from ''arena'', "sand". The genus contains two species: the ruddy turnstone (''Arenaria interpres'') and the black turnstone (''Arenaria melanocephala''). Both birds are waders. Their length is typically between 20 and 25 cm, with a wingspan between 50 and 60 cm and a body mass betwe ...
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