40 Sandpipers & Allies Of Vietnam

Sandpipers & Allies Of Vietnam – Scolopacidae

With 40 species of Sandpipers & Allies Of Vietnam, occurring over the country, some species really hard to see. Most of them are shorebirds that migrate throughout more than 5400km of the coastline of Vietnam Far Eastern Curlew, Great Knot and Nordman’s Greenshank are three species that have the status Endangered species on IUCN red list. Especially, Vietnam is honored to have a starlight visitor of migration shorebirds Spoon-billed Sandpiper a Critically Endangered species that all birder want to see or take pictures of when visiting Vietnam.

You may know: Mention Vietnam Shorebirds to anyone who has spent time birding in the country or is perhaps planning a birding trip to Vietnam in the future and the names of two particular bird families will surely come up, Sandpiper & Plover.

The overview of Sandpipers & Allies families

Sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as Curlew and Snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Different lengths of bills enable different species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.

Sandpipers have long bodies and 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 12 to 66 cm (4.7–26.0 in) 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.

Most species nest in open areas, and defend their territories with aerial displays. The nest itself is a simple scrape in the ground, in which the bird typically lays three or four eggs. The young of most species are precocial.

Many Sandpipers form monogamous pairs, but some sandpipers have female-only parental care, some male-only parental care, some sequential polyandry and other compete for the mate on the lek. Sandpipers lay three or four eggs into the nest, which is usually a vague depression or scrape in the open ground, scarcely lined with soft vegetation. In species where both parents incubate the eggs, females and males share their incubation duties in various ways both within and between species.

In some pairs, parents exchange on the nest in the morning and in the evening so that their incubation rhythm follows a 24-hour day, in others each sex may sit on the nest continuously for up to 24 hours before it is exchanged by its partner. In species where only a single parent incubates the eggs, during the night the parent sits on the eggs nearly continuously and then during the warmest part of a day leaves the nest for short feeding bouts. Chicks hatch after about three weeks of incubation and are able to walk and forage within a few hours of hatching. A single parent or both parents guide and brood the chicks.

Sandpipers & Allies of Vietnam Highlight note

Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus

Status: Especially Rare Pass Migrant – Critically Endangered Species

Best time to watch & Photo: Nov – Apr

Tours: Coastline Vietnam

Hotspot: LaGi, Can Gio, Binh Dai, Go Cong

Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris

Status: Rare Pass Migrant – Endangered Species

Best time to watch & Photo: Nov – Apr

Tours: Mekong Delta

Hotspot: Can Gio, Xuan Thuy, Go Cong

Far Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis

Status: Rare Pass Migrant – Endangered Species

Best time to watch & Photo: Nov – Apr

Tour cover: Coastline Vietnam

Hotspot: Can Gio, Xuan Thuy, Go Cong

Nordmann’s Greenshank Tringa guttifer

Status: Rare Pass Migrant – Endangered Species

Best time to watch & Photo: Nov – Apr

Tours: Mekong Delta

Hotspot: Can Gio, Go Cong.

Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa

Status: Rare Pass Migrant – Near Threatened

Best time to watch & Photo: Nov – Apr

Tours: Coastline South of Central Vietnam

Hotspot: LaGi, Xuan Thuy

Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata

Status: Rare Pass Migrant – Near Threatened

Best time to watch & Photo: Feb-Apr

Tours: Coastline Vietnam

Hotspot: Can Gio, Go Cong

Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica

Status: Uncommon Pass Migrant – Near Threatened

Best time to watch & Photo: Nov – Apr

Tours: Coastline Vietnam

Hotspot: Can Gio, Xuan Thuy, Go Cong

Asian Dowitcher Limnodromus semipalmatus

Status: Uncommon Pass Migrant – Near Threatened

Best time to watch & Photo: Nov – Apr

Tours: Plains Vietnam

Hotspot: Can Gio, Xuan Thuy, Go Cong

Red-necked Stint Calidris pygmaea

Status: Uncommon Pass Migrant – Near Threatened

Best time to watch & Photo: Nov – Apr

Tour: Coastline Vietnam

Hotspot: Can Gio, Xuan Thuy, Go Cong

List of all Sandpipers in Vietnam

All Vietnam Birds Families