Calidris melanotos
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The pectoral sandpiper (Calidris melanotos), often abbreviated pec, is a small, migratory wader that breeds in arctic regions of North America and Asia, wintering in South America and Oceania. It eats small invertebrates. Its nest, a hole scraped in the ground and with a thick lining, is deep enough to protect its four eggs from the cool breezes of its breeding grounds. The pectoral sandpiper is 19–23 cm (7.5–9.1 in) long, with a wingspan of 38–46 cm (15–18 in).
In the past widely seen as most closely related to sharp-tailed sandpiper, more recent genetic evidence has shown more complex relationships between the species of Calidris, with its closest genetic relatives probably the semipalmated sandpiper and western sandpiper species pair.
Cox's sandpiper, originally described as a new species Calidris paramelanotos, has proven to be a stereotyped hybrid between this species and the curlew sandpiper. This does not prove a particularly close relationship between these two species, as far more distantly related waders have produced hybrids.
The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name kalidris or skalidris, is a term used by Aristotle for some... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 2 | Cochabamba | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 3 | Lima | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 4 | Asuncion | 🇵🇾 Paraguay | |
| 5 | Havana | 🇨🇺 Cuba | |
| 6 | Anchorage | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Caracas | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 9 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 10 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Pectoral Sandpiper sighting in Los Angeles on a given day, based on 513 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 265th most-seen of the 426 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Pectoral Sandpiper in Los Angeles on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pectoral Sandpiper sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 45 cities where we can rate Pectoral Sandpiper sightings, Los Angeles ranks 18th at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Bolivia, under 5%), Cochabamba (Bolivia, under 5%) and Lima (Peru, under 5%).
Same genus: Calidris
The closest relatives of the Pectoral Sandpiper that you can see in Los Angeles (genus Calidris, Calidris Sandpipers) are Least Sandpiper (about 10%) and Western Sandpiper (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pectoral Sandpiper is recorded against all the birds logged in Los Angeles (513 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
