Solitary sandpiper
{{short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Solitarysandpiper.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| taxon = Tringa solitaria
| authority = Wilson, 1813
| synonyms =
Helodromas solitarius
| range_map = Tringa solitaria map.svg
}}
The solitary sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) is a small shorebird. The genus name Tringa is the Neo-Latin name given to the green sandpiper by Aldrovandus in 1599 based on Ancient Greek trungas, a thrush-sized, white-rumped, tail-bobbing wading bird mentioned by Aristotle. The specific solitaria is Latin for "solitary" from solus, "alone".{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher=Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages= [https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n359 359], 390}}
Description
This species measures {{convert|18|-|23|cm|in|abbr=on}} long, with a wingspan up to {{convert|50|cm|in|abbr=on}} and a body mass of {{convert|31|-|65|g|oz|abbr=on}}.[http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Solitary_sandpiper/lifehistory Solitary sandpiper at All about birds]CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), {{ISBN|978-0-8493-4258-5}}. It is a dumpy wader with a dark green back, greyish head and breast and otherwise white underparts. It is obvious in flight, with wings dark above and below, and a dark rump and tail centre. The latter feature distinguishes it from the slightly larger and broader-winged, but otherwise very similar, green sandpiper (T. ochropus) of Europe and Asia, to which it is closely related.{{cite journal|last1=Pereira|first1=Sérgio Luiz|last2=Baker|first2=Allan J.|title=Multiple Gene Evidence for Parallel Evolution and Retention of Ancestral Morphological States in the Shanks (Charadriiformes: Scolopacidae)|journal=The Condor|volume=107|issue=3|year=2005|pages=514|issn=0010-5422|doi=10.1650/0010-5422(2005)107[0514:MGEFPE]2.0.CO;2|doi-access=free}} The latter species has a brilliant white rump. In flight, the solitary sandpiper has a characteristic three-note whistle. They both have brown wings with little light dots, and a delicate but contrasting neck and chest pattern. In addition, both species nest in trees, unlike most other scolopacids.
Distribution and habitat
It breeds in woodlands across Alaska and Canada. It is a migratory bird, wintering in Central and South America, especially in the Amazon River basin, and the Caribbean. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe, and goes there in the summer–autumn period.
=Subspecies=
The solitary sandpiper is split into two subspecies:
- T. s. cinnamomea, (Brewster, 1890): breeds in Alaska & western Canada
- T. s. solitaria, (Wilson, 1813): breeds from eastern British Columbia to Labrador
File:Solitary Sandpiper, Petrie Island.jpg
Behaviour
As its name indicates, the solitary sandpiper is not a gregarious species, usually seen alone during migration, although sometimes small numbers congregate in suitable feeding areas. The solitary sandpiper is very much a bird of fresh water, and is often found in sites, such as ditches, too restricted for other waders, which tend to like a clear all-round view.
=Breeding=
The sandpiper lays a clutch of 3–5 eggs in abandoned tree nests of songbird species, such as those of thrushes. The young birds are encouraged to drop to the ground soon after hatching.Federation of Alberta Naturalists. (1992) Glen P. Semenchuk (ed.). The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Alberta. Edmonton, AB:Federation of Alberta Naturalists.
=Feeding=
Food is small invertebrates: insects (such as mosquito larvae, young midges, grasshoppers, caterpillars and beetles), small crustaceans and molluscs (such as snails extracted from their shells),{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Tringa_solitaria/ | title=Tringa solitaria (Solitary sandpiper) | website=Animal Diversity Web }} sometimes small frogs (primarily as tadpoles),{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Tringa_solitaria/ | title=Tringa solitaria (Solitary sandpiper) | website=Animal Diversity Web }} picked off the mud as the bird works steadily around the edges of its chosen pond.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Tringa solitaria|Solitary sandpiper}}
{{Wikispecies|Tringa solitaria}}
- [http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i2560id.html Solitary sandpiper - Tringa solitaria] - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- [http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Solitary_Sandpiper.html Solitary sandpiper species account] - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- {{Avibase|name=Tringa solitaria}}
- {{InternetBirdCollection|solitary-sandpiper-tringa-solitaria|Solitary sandpiper}}
- {{VIREO|Solitary+Sandpiper|Solitary sandpiper}}
- {{IUCN_Map|22693239/260808693|Tringa solitaria}}
{{Scolopacidae|2}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q836304}}
Category:Native birds of Alaska
Category:Birds of the Caribbean
Category:Birds of the Dominican Republic
Category:Birds of Central America