Broad-billed Sandpiper

Scientific Name: Calidris falcinellus
Malay Name: Kedidi Paruh Lebar
Chinese Name: 阔嘴鹬

Range:
Two populations: falcinellus breeds in Scandinavia and northwest Russia and winters from east Africa to the Indian subcontinent; sibirica breeds in northeast Siberia and winters from northeast India to Australia.

Taxonomy:
Polytypic. Subspecies are: falcinellus, sibirica.

Local Subspecies: sibirica

Size: 16-18 cm

Identification:
A small wader with short legs and a somewhat rounded appearance. In all plumages, can be distinguished from other waders by relatively long bill decurved at its tip and distinctive split supercilium. Slightly larger Curlew Sandpiper and Dunlin have a more evenly decurved bill, lack the split supercilium, and, when in non-breeding colors, display less contrasting upperpart plumage. Red-necked and Little Stint are smaller and have shorter bills which lack the decurved tip. In breeding plumage, Broad-billed Sandpipers show rufous fringes to upperpart feathers and a more contrasting supercilium.

Similar looking species: Red-necked Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint

Habitat: Mudflats, sandflats, and brackish lagoons.

Behaviour/Ecology: Walks slowly while feeding, scanning for prey from side to side; occasionally probes. Sometimes joins flocks of other waders.

Local Status: Uncommon migrant

Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2019)

Featured articles:

• Minor checklist revision for April 2017 (Revisions)
• Migrant bar charts – Sep 9 update (Blog)
• A Student’s Big Year (Blog)

Featured reports: Oct 2022, Nov 2022

Past accepted records in our database:

Migrant bar chart (see more bar charts):

Broad-billed Sandpipers at SBWR. Photo Credit: Francis Yap

Broad-billed Sandpiper at SBWR. Photo Credit: Francis Yap

Broad-billed Sandpiper at SBWR. Photo Credit: Francis Yap