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A Beginners Guide to North American Shorebirds




Shorebird is a catchall term for any member of a number of families
of an order of birds, including the sandpipers, plovers, oyster catchers,
and the avocets and stilts.

They are generally white and gray or brown, with long pointed wings
and long legs or webbed feet.

Sexes are similar in most species.

Shorebirds are highly migratory with some of the longest distance
migrations of any North American birds. Nearly two-thirds of the
species that breed in North America journey from their arctic nesting
grounds to winter in Central and South America, and then return to
the Arctic the following spring.

Many species travel more than 15,000 miles round trip.


Most shorebirds feed along shores, a few inland on small invertebrates.
Larger birds will also eat various insects and small reptiles.

Different lengths of bills enable different species to feed in the same habitat.
Many have sensitive nerve endings at the end of their bills which
enable them to detect prey hidden in mud or soft soil.

In Great Britain these birds are generally called waders.

The U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan

Shorebirds belong to the order Charadriiformes


North American Shorebirds Include:

Alcids
Auks
Avocets
Curlews
Dowitchers
Godwits
Gulls
Jacanas
Jaegers
Lapwings
Oystercatchers
Phalaropes
Plovers
Puffins
Sandpipers
Shanks
Skimmers
Skuas
Snipes
Stilts
Tattlers
Terns
Woodcocks


See Also:

Index of North American Birds


Index of All Bird Care & Birdie Fun Stuff

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