Sandpipers & Allies

Most sandpipers are clothed in muted earthtones that match the simple and elemental habitats where they live, and their bills have evolved to capture invertebrates in mud and sand in almost every conceivable way. Females in some species may achieve higher fecundity by mating with more than one male, and polyandry, polygyny, and monogamy can occur in congeners that look outwardly very plain and very much the same. These different mating systems are associated with some very fluid patterns of movements as well; some species seem to wander from place to place to breed both within and between seasons. In addition some birds in this family make the longest-distance nonstop migrations of any terrestrial bird.