Pectoral Sandpiper

Mottled brown and black upperparts with distinctive buff-colored breast heavily streaked with dark brown, sharply contrasting with a clean white belly. Males are noticeably larger than females with a more distinctly demarcated breast band.

Sharp cutoff between the streaked buff breast and the clean white belly, medium-sized slightly decurved dark bill, yellowish legs, and a heavily patterned brown back.

Length: 19-23 cm (7.5-9 inches), Wingspan: 38-45 cm (15-18 inches), Weight: 40-120 g (depending on sex and migration stage).

A low, resonant, vibrating note or buzz given in flight during courtship, and a soft, dry 'prrit' call when flushed.

Insects, spiders, and small aquatic invertebrates, which they forage for by probing mud or picking food from the surface.

Arctic tundra during the breeding season; muddy freshwater wetlands, flooded pastures, and temporary pools during migration.

Highly migratory. Long-distance migrant traveling from arctic breeding grounds to southern South America and Australasia.

Nests on the ground in a shallow scrape lined with leaves and moss, hidden in tundra vegetation. Clutch size is typically 4 eggs. The male performs elaborate aerial display flights and is polygynous, leaving parental care entirely to the female.

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, which is very similar in appearance but generally has a brighter rufous crown and is primarily found in Asia and Australia, though vagrants do occur.

Acts as an important predator of aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates in tundra and wetland ecosystems, helping to regulate insect populations while serving as prey for larger avian and mammalian predators.

Least Concern, with a generally stable global population.

Look for them in muddy edges of freshwater marshes, flooded fields, and coastal mudflats during migration. They often freeze when approached, making them easier to spot.

Male pectoral sandpipers have an inflatable throat sac used to produce a booming, low-frequency mating call during courtship displays, making them one of the most vocally unique shorebirds.