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Eurynorhynchus pygmeusspoon-billed sandpiper(Also: spoonbill sandpiper)

By Claire Labuda

Geographic Range

Spoon-billed Sandpipers (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus), are long distance migrants of the East Asian Australian Flyway. Individuals fly over 5,000 miles a year, traveling from north-east Russia to southern Asia annually. This species summers in the Russian arctic, breeding along the coast of the Bering Sea. The largest populations can be found on the tundras of the Chukotsk peninsula. In winter, the species flies down the Pacific coast of Asia, traveling through Russia, Japan, and Korea to reach their final wintering grounds. Stable wintering populations have been found in southern China, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Vietnam, with sixty percent of the population wintering on the Gulf of Mottama in Myanmar. (Aung, et al., 2022; "Spoon-billed Sandpiper Facts", 2023; Zockler, et al., 2010)

Habitat

As a long distance migrant, Spoon-billed Sandpipers travel through a variety of habitats. In the summer, they reside in the tundras of arctic Russia. The species breeds in tundra grasslands, vegetated with mosses, willows, and crowberry plants, where they feed among intertidal sandbars along the coast. These sandpipers have a very specific breeding ground, requiring both crowberry vegetation and nearby lakes or marshes for feeding. These breeding grounds often have nearby estuaries and mudflats to feed upon. As a coastal species, these sandpipers have never been recorded to breed further than 5km from the shoreline. Staying near coastal mudflats for food, this species is usually found at sea level elevation. In the winter, the species inhabits coastal areas in southern Asia near the equator. Here they prefer coastal mudflats with low vegetation. These sandpipers prefer sandy intertidal areas with a thin layer of mud where they can find small invertebrates to feed on. Their optimal wintering habitat has shallow water pools, a sandy coast, and a soft layer of mud for feeding. These habitats can be found in mudflats, salt flats, river deltas, and tidal estuaries. ("Spoon-billed Sandpiper", 2021; "Spoon-billed Sandpiper Facts", 2023; Van Gils, et al., 2020)

  • Range elevation
    0 to 70 m
    0.00 to 229.66 ft

Physical Description

Spoon-billed Sandpipers are a unique species in their possession of a spatulated bill. During the breeding season their plumage has a rusty orange color on their head and shoulders, with dark spotting on the breast leading to a white underbelly. During the nonbreeding season the species loses their rufous color for a gray head and shoulders. Throughout the year, the legs and bill stay black. Females are slightly larger than males, averaging 34 grams versus 29.5 grams for males. ("Spoon-billed Sandpiper Facts", 2023; Van Gils, et al., 2020)

  • Sexual Dimorphism
  • female larger
  • Range mass
    29 to 40 g
    1.02 to 1.41 oz
  • Range length
    14 to 16 cm
    5.51 to 6.30 in
  • Range wingspan
    32 to 38 cm
    12.60 to 14.96 in

Reproduction

Spoon-billed Sandpipers are a monogamous species, with two thirds of adults returning to the same breeding spot every year. The same pair breed together for multiple seasons. Males will perform displays over their territory, performing courtship dances to attract a mate. Once the male has found a mate, he will stop doing courtship displays. ("Spoon-billed Sandpiper", 2021; "Spoon-billed Sandpiper Facts", 2023)

Spoon-billed Sandpipers have one breeding season a year, nesting June-July. Each clutch contains four eggs. If the first clutch is lost, the mother will lay another batch of eggs. Both adults take turns incubating the eggs, until they hatch 19-23 days after being incubated. Chicks will be completely independent by the time they are 15-20 days old, as both parents will have left the nest. On average, Spoon-billed Sandpipers are considered sexually mature after their second year. (Green, et al., 2021; "Spoon-billed Sandpiper", 2021)

  • Breeding interval
    Spoon-billed Sandpipers have one breeding season.
  • Breeding season
    Spoon-billed Sandpipers nest June through July.
  • Range eggs per season
    3 to 4
  • Average eggs per season
    4
  • Range time to hatching
    19 to 23 days
  • Range time to independence
    15 to 20 days
  • Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
    2 years
  • Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
    2 years

Spoon-billed Sandpipers will build two nests every year in preparation of laying their eggs. The male defends a certain territory that he will return to every year. Chicks will be incubated and initially taken care of by both parents before and after hatching. Females leave the nest on average five days after the eggs have hatched, while males stay fifteen to twenty days after the eggs have hatched. ("Spoon-billed Sandpiper Facts", 2023)

  • Parental Investment
  • altricial
  • male parental care
  • female parental care
  • pre-fertilization
    • protecting
      • male
  • pre-hatching/birth
    • provisioning
      • male
      • female
  • pre-weaning/fledging
    • provisioning
      • male
      • female
  • pre-independence
    • provisioning
      • male
      • female

Lifespan/Longevity

Overall, there is little known about the lifespan of these birds. This species is critically endangered with only a few hundred individuals left, making it rare to encounter the same individual multiple times within its lifetime. The oldest known species in the wild is sixteen years old, and the oldest known in captivity is fourteen years old. Due to hunting and habitat loss, the average lifespan of these birds is only four and a half years. ("Spoon-billed Sandpiper", 2021; "Wild Birds: How Long Do Birds Live?", 2021; Zockler, et al., 2010)

  • Range lifespan
    Status: wild
    14 to 16 years
  • Average lifespan
    Status: captivity
    14 years
  • Average lifespan
    Status: wild
    4.49 years
  • Average lifespan
    Status: captivity
    14 years

Behavior

These sandpipers are a diurnal species, meaning they are most active during the day. Their feeding depends on the tidal cycle, foraging during low tide in shallow mudflats. While foraging, they are recognizable due to the side to side movement of their beaks through the mud. They are predominantly solitary, but may feed alongside groups of other shorebirds. As solitary birds, they are not very social and do not have a distinguished territory outside of their breeding season. Although, they are very site faithful overall. Flying 5,000 miles a year, they will never wander over 5 km from the shoreline as a terricolous species. (Bird, et al., 2010; Weidensaul, 2021; Zockler, et al., 2010)

  • Range territory size
    3 to 5 km^2

Home Range

As a long distance migrant, this species does not have a particular home range, but will always stay within 5 kilometers from the coast of the Pacific Ocean. (Zockler, et al., 2010)

Communication and Perception

These birds communicate and perceive through both visual and acoustic communication. During the breeding season, males perform courtship flights to attract a mate, rapidly beating their wings in flight and repeating a trilling noise. Breeding season is when the birds are most vocal, making a variety of sounds both in flight and on the ground to attract a mate. In the non-breeding season, communication is limited to smaller, shriller noises. On the ground an ascending “whoeatt...whoeatt” noise can be heard, while in flight a short “puree”, “preep” or shrill “wheet” noise can be heard. ("Spoon-billed Sandpiper", 2021; "Spoon-billed Sandpiper Facts", 2023)

Food Habits

Spoon-billed Sandpipers are omnivores, eating both animal and plant products. During the breeding season, their diet consists mostly of invertebrates such as spiders, beetles, flies, and mosquitoes along with some grass-seeds and berries. Generally, chicks are fed flies, beetles, and seeds. During the non-breeding season adults will eat larval crustaceans and juvenile molluscs. They eat a plethora of marine invertebrates, such as worms and shrimp. ("Spoon-billed Sandpiper", 2021; "Spoon-billed Sandpiper Facts", 2023)

  • Animal Foods
  • insects
  • terrestrial non-insect arthropods
  • mollusks
  • terrestrial worms
  • aquatic or marine worms
  • aquatic crustaceans
  • Plant Foods
  • seeds, grains, and nuts

Predation

Spoon-billed Sandpipers suffer predation from land animals such as foxes and wild dogs, and from predators up above, such as the skua. These predators will eat eggs from the sandpipers nest or attack the sandpipers while foraging. Due to this, these sandpipers will forage alone or in large clearings in order to be able to spot predators from afar. During the breeding season, their rusty orange breeding plumage helps them blend in with the lichen they build their nests upon. (Bird, et al., 2010; "‘Headstarted’ spoon-billed sandpipers hatch", 2013)

  • Known Predators
    • Foxes, skuas, wild dogs

Ecosystem Roles

Spoon-billed Sandpipers are very important in maintaining the health of intertidal mudflats. Through their foraging behavior, these sandpipers help control the invertebrate and crustacean populations along these mudflats. This in turn benefits all marine life and humans, as healthy mudflats are an integral part of marine ecosystems. Without them, marine life wouldn't exist and humans would not be able to use marine organisms as a food source. The preservation of these mudflats also help prevent coastal flooding and storm surges. Also, these sandpipers are important to marine ecosystems, as they facilitate energy and nutrient exchanges from both land and sea. Moreover, these birds serve as seed dispersers, as their diet consists of seeds and berries. (Kelly, 2020)

  • Ecosystem Impact
  • disperses seeds
  • creates habitat

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Through sustaining intertidal mudflat health, these sandpipers help maintain the marine ecosystems that humans benefit from. Without healthy mudflats, human settlements would be subjected to more floods and storm surges. Also, fewer marine organisms would be available as food sources for humans. Although illegal and destructive to bird populations, the trapping of Spoon-billed Sandpipers serves as an income for some hunters. Especially in their wintering grounds of Myanmar, the illegal hunting of spoonies is a popular source of income for locals, as they set up large nets to catch shorebirds for food. As the country is trying to move away from illegal hunting, ecotourism has become a new popular income surrounding the Spoon-billed Sandpiper. (Kelly, 2020; "Spoon-billed Sandpiper", 2021; Weidensaul, 2021; Zockler, et al., 2010)

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

Traveling thousands of miles a year, these sandpipers require important habitats to be able to stay fueled for their long journeys. Estuaries and mudflats are vital for these sandpipers' survival. But with human expansion, many of these vital habitats are being destroyed, as rivers are getting dammed and mudflats are getting drained for new industrial projects. In order to save this species, countries will have to give up potential industrial projects to preserve vital habitats. This could potentially be an economic loss for participating countries. (Weidensaul, 2021)

Conservation Status

This species is classified as critically endangered on the IUCN redlist, with only an estimated 120 breeding pairs left in the wild. This species has been classified as a Class 1 protected species on the National Key Protected Wild Animal List of China. There is conservation work being done throughout the species migration route, with new protected wildlife areas and hunting laws for the birds in China, Russia, Vietnam, and Thailand. Annual surveys are done at their breeding sites. Awareness is increasing on their endangerment through outreach groups in many countries throughout their breeding route. A captive breeding program was started in 2011 for the species, but has ultimately been unsuccessful with only two chicks surviving to adulthood in the past 10 years. ("Spoon-billed Sandpiper", 2021; Weidensaul, 2021)

Contributors

Claire Labuda (author), Colorado State University, Tanya Dewey (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

Glossary

Palearctic

living in the northern part of the Old World. In otherwords, Europe and Asia and northern Africa.

World Map

acoustic

uses sound to communicate

altricial

young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

brackish water

areas with salty water, usually in coastal marshes and estuaries.

carnivore

an animal that mainly eats meat

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

coastal

the nearshore aquatic habitats near a coast, or shoreline.

diurnal
  1. active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
ecotourism

humans benefit economically by promoting tourism that focuses on the appreciation of natural areas or animals. Ecotourism implies that there are existing programs that profit from the appreciation of natural areas or animals.

endothermic

animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.

estuarine

an area where a freshwater river meets the ocean and tidal influences result in fluctuations in salinity.

female parental care

parental care is carried out by females

food

A substance that provides both nutrients and energy to a living thing.

granivore

an animal that mainly eats seeds

herbivore

An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.

insectivore

An animal that eats mainly insects or spiders.

iteroparous

offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).

male parental care

parental care is carried out by males

marsh

marshes are wetland areas often dominated by grasses and reeds.

migratory

makes seasonal movements between breeding and wintering grounds

molluscivore

eats mollusks, members of Phylum Mollusca

monogamous

Having one mate at a time.

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

omnivore

an animal that mainly eats all kinds of things, including plants and animals

oriental

found in the oriental region of the world. In other words, India and southeast Asia.

World Map

oviparous

reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.

polar

the regions of the earth that surround the north and south poles, from the north pole to 60 degrees north and from the south pole to 60 degrees south.

seasonal breeding

breeding is confined to a particular season

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

solitary

lives alone

tactile

uses touch to communicate

temperate

that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).

terrestrial

Living on the ground.

territorial

defends an area within the home range, occupied by a single animals or group of animals of the same species and held through overt defense, display, or advertisement

tropical

the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.

tropical savanna and grassland

A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.

savanna

A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.

temperate grassland

A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.

tundra

A terrestrial biome with low, shrubby or mat-like vegetation found at extremely high latitudes or elevations, near the limit of plant growth. Soils usually subject to permafrost. Plant diversity is typically low and the growing season is short.

visual

uses sight to communicate

References

2023. "Spoon-billed Sandpiper Facts" (On-line). The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Accessed February 10, 2023 at https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/spoon-billed-sandpiper-facts/.

2021. "Spoon-billed Sandpiper" (On-line). IUCN Red List. Accessed February 10, 2023 at https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22693452/154738156#geographic-range.

2021. "Wild Birds: How Long Do Birds Live?" (On-line). goatreboot. Accessed February 21, 2003 at https://goatreboot.com/how-long-do-birds-live/.

2013. "‘Headstarted’ spoon-billed sandpipers hatch" (On-line). Saving the Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Accessed March 21, 2023 at https://www.saving-spoon-billed-sandpiper.com/2013/07/expeditions/headstarted-spoon-billed-sandpipers-hatch/.

Aung, P., G. Buchanan, P. Round, C. Zockler, C. Kelly. 2022. Foraging microhabitat selection of Spoon-billed Sandpiper in the Upper Gulf of Mottama, Myanmar. Global Ecology and Conservation, Volume 35: x. Accessed February 10, 2023 at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989422000798?via%3Dihub.

Bird, J., A. Lees, S. Chowdury, R. Martin, E. Haque. 2010. A survey of the Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus in Bangladesh and key future research and conservation recommendations. Forktail, 26: 1-8. Accessed March 09, 2023 at https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c1a9e03f407b482a158da87/t/5c2119c7562fa7d462c5f514/1545673161294/Bird-Spoon-billed-Sandpiper.pdf.

Green, R., E. Syrochkovskiy, G. Anderson, Q. Chang, S. Chowdhury. 2021. "New estimates of the size and trend of the world population of the spoon-billed sandpiper using three independent statistical models" (On-line). University of Cambridge. Accessed March 04, 2023 at https://aspace.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/318827.

Kelly, M. 2020. "Study on shorebirds suggests that when conserving species, not all land is equal" (On-line). Science Daily. Accessed February 10, 2023 at https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200609130020.htm.

Lu, X., H. Yang, T. Piersma, L. Sun, Q. Chen. 2022. Food resources for Spoon-billed Sandpipers in the mudflats of Leizhou Bay, southern China. Frontiers In Marine Science, 9: 1-13. Accessed February 10, 2023 at https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:000862154600001.

Syroechkovski, E., P. Tomkovich, M. Kashiwagi. 2011. Population decline in the spoon-billed sandpiper (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus) in northern Chukotka based on monitoring on breeding grounds. Biology Bulletin, 37: 941–951. Accessed February 21, 2023 at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S1062359010090074#citeas.

Syroechkovski, E. 2003. The Spoon-billed Sandpiper on The Edge: A Review of Breeding Distribution, Population Estimates and Plans for Conservation Research in Russia.. Status and Conservation of Shorebirds in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, 18: 169-174. Accessed February 10, 2023 at https://awsg.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ASC-Canberra-proceedings-2003.pdf#page=170.

Van Gils, J., P. Wiersma, C. Sharpe, G. Kirwan. 2020. "Spoon-billed Sandpiper" (On-line). Cornell Lab of Ornithology Birds of the World. Accessed February 10, 2023 at https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/spbsan1/cur/introduction.

Weidensaul, S. 2021. A World On The Wing. 500 Fifth Avenue New York, New York 10110: W.W. Norton and Company.

Zockler, C., T. Htin Hla, N. Clark, E. Syrochkovskiy, N. Yakushev. 2010. Hunting in Myanmar is probably the main cause of the decline of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmeus. Wader Study Group Bulletin, Volume 117 Issue 1: 1-8. Accessed February 10, 2023 at https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/43101872/Hunting_in_Myanmar_is_probably_the_main_20160226-27808-1dn5no4-libre.pdf?1456505013=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DHunting_in_Myanmar_is_probably_the_main.pdf&Expires=1676071005&Signature=X2r44qGel~IW0XOin0DJEJU0RSwxpPoUf8zqHxJKiyRWq4POtfWdKepZjZ6JW7QJt89sAvO-JXpZvBo1HhR1krKeqyXaLH-6COobIe9yOFmc2KM~pZDur0yoqTw-6JPRn7E7x277NJwCE8PqfLv4Ndj22YoNGqqR6WLLzbyh33WVcXceFI3DNqL7Tyxnv561PCUzVtwpZIk27ZhKtXHUSJIaocz4mBjEoTrvQotaBtqi~cvtzFqiQ3UQFA23MLCwTpqxWsXwzWdauQaNbHlzDWj2wb5okMQIBH2UuINn4Wy483o6powPWyCUZuOr1FwPIr5F3TXKGwtMIpYmULQwrA__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA.

Zockler, C., E. Syroechkovskiy, P. Atkinson. 2010. Rapid and continued population decline in the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus indicates imminent extinction unless conservation action is taken. Bird Conservation International, Volume 20 Issue 2: 95-111. Accessed February 10, 2023 at https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bird-conservation-international/article/rapid-and-continued-population-decline-in-the-spoonbilled-sandpiper-eurynorhynchus-pygmeus-indicates-imminent-extinction-unless-conservation-action-is-taken/79AEDA5D2BACFD4549C88A8E184F5BB7.

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