Birds of Singapore
by the Bird Society of Singapore
34 species in Singapore.
Sandpipers and allies (Scolopacidae) are a large, diverse family of shorebirds found on every continent. Most are highly migratory, breeding at high latitudes and wintering on coastal and inland wetlands worldwide. They range from the smallest stints with short, straight bills to the largest curlews which have enormous, downcurved bills. Their bill tips are packed with touch receptors, letting them detect prey as they probe blind into mud or sand. During the winter months, most species have dull sandy, brown, or grey plumage; many have a brighter breeding plumage, often featuring red tones. Some birds may still display flashes of their breeding plumage when they arrive in Singapore, in August or September.
Singapore has no resident members of this family, only migrants and vagrants. Several pose identification challenges, with some particularly difficult pairs being Little and Red-necked Stint, Swinhoe's and Pin-tailed Snipe, and Far Eastern and Eurasian Curlew. This is the largest family in Singapore in terms of species recorded. Overall size, bill shape and colour, and leg length and colour, are the first go-to features which will be most helpful in identification. When rarer migrants and vagrants turn up, they often appear together with somewhat similar-looking common species; for example: godwits among Eurasian Whimbrels, and Marsh Sandpiper among Common Greenshanks.
Most species prefer either coastal habitats (intertidal mudflats and sandflats) or freshwater habitats (damp grasslands, freshwater marshes), although some can be found in both. Apart from vagrants, Wood Sandpiper and Long-toed Stint are the only species which are more expected in freshwater habitats, while the rest generally prefer coastal habitats. Common Sandpiper is highly adaptable, and can probably be found even in your neighbourhood canal.
Most species probe or pick invertebrates from mud, sand, and shallow water, relying on touch receptors in the bill tip to locate buried prey. Many form mixed-species flocks on intertidal flats. They can be rather vocal, particularly when alarmed, and in flight.