Scolopacidae

:"Sandpiper" redirects here. For the 1965 film see "The Sandpiper". For the 1960s singing group see The Sandpipers."Taxobox
name = Typical waders

The Scolopacidae are a large family of waders, (known as shorebirds in North America). Many of the smaller species are often called "sandpipers", especially members of genera "Calidris", "Tringa" and "Actitis". Other well-known groups include curlews and snipes. The majority of 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.

Biology

Waders have long bodies and legs, and narrow wings. Most species have a narrow bill, but otherwise the form and length are quite variable. The bills are sensitive, allowing the birds to feel the mud and sand as they probe for food. Waders range in size from the Least Sandpiper, at around 11 centimetres in length, to the Eastern Curlew, at 66 centimetres in length. They generally have dull plumage, with cryptic brown, grey, or streaked patterns, although some display brighter colours during the breeding seasoncite book |editor=Forshaw, Joseph|author= Harrison, Colin J.O.|year=1991|title=Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds|publisher= Merehurst Press|location=London|pages= 103-105|isbn= 1-85391-186-0] .

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 typically lays three or four eggs. The young of most species are precocial.

Taxonomy

This large family is often further subdivided into groups of similar birds. These groups do not necessarily consist of a single genus, but as presented here they do form distinct monophyletic evolutionary lineages [Thomas "et al" (2004)] . The groups, with species numbers in parentheses, are:

* Curlews:Genus "Numenius" (8 species, of which 1-2 recently extinct)
* Upland Sandpiper:Genus "Bartramia" (monotypic)
* Godwits:Genus "Limosa" (4 species)
* Dowitchers:Genus "Limnodromus" (3 species)
* Snipe and woodcocks:Genera "Coenocorypha", "Lymnocryptes", "Gallinago" and "Scolopax" (nearly 30 species, plus some 6 extinct)
* Phalaropes:Genus "Phalaropus" (3 species)
* Shanks and tattlers:Genera "Xenus", "Actitis", and "Tringa" which now includes "Catoptrophorus" and "Heteroscelus" (16 species)
* Polynesian sandpipers:Genus "Prosobonia" (1 extant species, 3-5 extinct)
* Calidrids and turnstones:Roughly 25 species, mostly in "Calidris" which might be split up into several genera. Other genera currently accepted are "Aphriza", "Eurynorhynchus", "Limicola", "Tryngites", and "Philomachus", in addition to the 2 "Arenaria" turnstones.

Evolution

The early fossil record is very bad for a group that was probably present at the non-avian dinosaur's extinction. "Totanus" teruelensis" (Late Miocene of Los Mansuetos (Spain) is sometimes considered a scolopacid - maybe a shank - but may well be a larid; little is known of it.

"Paractitis" has been named from the Early Oligocene of Sasketchewan (Canada). Most living genera would seem to have evolved throughout the Oligocene to Miocene with the waders perhaps a bit later; see the genus accounts for the fossil record.

In addition there are some indeterminable remains that might belong to extant genera or their extinct relatives:
*Scolopacidae gen. et sp. indet. (Middle Miocene of Františkovy Lázně, Czechia - Late Miocene of Kohfidisch, Austria)
*Scolopacidae gen. et sp. indet. (Edson Early Pliocene of Sherman County, USA) [A distal right tarsometatarsus of a bird roughly similar to a Pectoral Sandpiper. Probably calidrid or basal to them, somewhat reminiscent of turnstones: Wetmore (1937).]

Footnotes

References

* (2004): A supertree approach to shorebird phylogeny. "BMC Evol. Biol." 4: 28. doi|10.1186/1471-2148-4-28 [http://www.pubmedcentral.org/picrender.fcgi?artid=515296&blobtype=pdf PDF fulltext] [http://www.pubmedcentral.org/articlerender.fcgi?artid=515296#supplementary-material-sec Supplementary Material]
* (1937): The Eared Grebe and other Birds from the Pliocene of Kansas. "Condor" 39(1): 40. [http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Condor/files/issues/v039n01/p0040-p0040.pdf PDF fulltext] [http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Condor/files/DJVU/v039n01/P0040-P0040.djvu DjVu fulltext]

External links

* [http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/familia.phtml?idFamilia=61 Scolopacidae videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
* [http://www.peterfuller.com.au/galleries/shorebirds/shorebirds.html Shorebirds of Australia Photos]