What is Sandpiper?
{{Taxobox | name = Sandpipers | image = Calidris-alpina-001 edit.jpg | image_width = 240px | image_caption = [[Dunlin]] (''Calidris alpina'') | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordata]] | classis = [[Aves]] | subclassis = [[Neornithes]] | infraclassis = [[Neoaves]] | ordo = [[Charadriiformes]] | subordo = '''Scolopaci''' | subordo_authority = | familia = '''Scolopacidae''' | familia_authority = [[Constantine Samuel Rafinesque|Rafinesque]], 1815}} [[File:Bar-tailed Godwit.jpg|thumb|250px|The [[bar-tailed godwit]]]] '''Sandpipers''' are a large family of [[wader]]s or shorebirds, the '''Scolopacidae'''. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as [[curlew]] and [[snipe]]. Sandpipers are small birds with a longish pointed beak, and usually a rounded shape. Most species eat small [[invertebrate]]s picked out of the mud, sand or soil. Different lengths of [[beak|bills]] allow different species to feed in the same [[habitat]] on the [[coast]] without direct competition for food. Sandpipers have long legs, and narrow wings. Most species have a narrow bill, but otherwise the form and length are quite variable. They are small to medium sized birds, measuring {{convert|12|to(-)|66|cm|in|abbr=on}} cm in length. The bills are sensitive, allowing the birds to feel the mud and [[sand]] as they probe for food. They generally have dull [[plumage]], with [[cryptic]] brown, grey, or streaked patterns, although some display brighter colours during the breeding season.<ref name=EoB>{{cite 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}}</ref> Most species nest in open areas, and defend their territories with aerial displays. The [[Bird nest|nest]] itself is a simple scrape in the ground, in which the bird usually lays three or four [[Cleidoic egg|eggs]]. The young of most species are [[precocial]].<ref name=EoB/> == References == {{reflist}} [[C