Description The Sharp-tailed Sandpiper is a brownish grey wading bird. It has a reddish brown on top of the head and a white face with darker band through the eye. It is heavily marked with dark and light pattern. The breeding plumage is richer brown with more mottling on the chest and belly. The belly is whiter in the non-breeding season. Juvenile birds have buff brown breast and white belly. It is similar to a number of other sandpipers - the chestnut head is one of the distinguishing features.
Size 21cm
Habitat Breeds in the tundra. Winters on beaches, mudflats, wet grasslands, margins of freshwater wetlands
Food insects, crustaceans, molluscs
Breeding nets in a hollow on the ground.
Range Breeds in the tundra of northern Asia. It spends winter in south east Asia (including Papua New Guinea, Indonesia), New Zealand and Australia. It can be found around the Australian coast and inland wetlands.
Credits: Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
