Calidris ptilocnemis
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The rock sandpiper (Calidris ptilocnemis) is a small shorebird in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae. This is a hardy sandpiper that breeds in the arctic and subarctic regions of Alaska and the Chukotka and Kamchatka Peninsulas. It is closely related to the purple sandpiper that breeds in arctic regions of northeast Canada and the northwest Palearctic, and in the past was often considered conspecific with it.
The rock sandpiper was formally described in 1873 by the American ornithologist Elliott Coues and given the binomial name Tringa ptilocnemis. It was formerly sometimes placed in the genus Erolia, but is now placed with 23 other sandpipers in the genus Calidris that was introduced in 1804 by the German naturalist Blasius Merrem. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific epithet ptilocnemis combines the Ancient Greek ptilon meaning "feather" with knēmē meaning "leg". Within the genus Calidris the rock sandpiper is sister to the purple sandpiper (Calidris maritima), and next most closely related to the sanderling (Calidris alba) and dunlin (Calidris alpina).
Four subspecies... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Redwood National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Pacific Rim National Park Reserve | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Rock Sandpiper sighting in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 159th most-seen of the 187 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rock Sandpiper in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in March to January, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rock Sandpiper sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Rock Sandpiper sightings, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve ranks 3rd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Redwood National Park (United States, under 5%) and Great Bear Rainforest (Canada, under 5%).
Same genus: Calidris
The closest relatives of the Rock Sandpiper that you can see in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve (genus Calidris, Calidris Sandpipers) are Western Sandpiper (about 30%), Least Sandpiper (about 20%) and Sanderling (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rock Sandpiper is recorded against all the birds logged in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve (16 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
