Pectoral Sandpiper

1. Sharply streaked breast with an abrupt border against a white belly

2. Yellowish-green legs and a slightly downcurved bill with a pale base

3. Robust, long-necked appearance with a rounded head

Pectoral Sandpipers breed in the Arctic tundra of North America and Siberia, nesting in wet, grassy areas. Males perform a unique courtship display by inflating an air sac in their breast to produce low-pitched hooting sounds, a behaviour not seen in other sandpipers. They are highly migratory, traveling vast distances between breeding and wintering grounds, with some individuals covering over 3, km in a year. In Australia, they feed mainly on insects, small crustaceans, and other invertebrates, foraging by probing and picking in grassy or marshy areas. They do not breed in Australia but visit between August-March.

In Australia, Pectoral Sandpipers are found in freshwater wetlands, grassy marshes, flooded paddocks, and the vegetated edges of farm dams and sewage ponds. They favour areas with short grass or sedges, often foraging slightly away from open water or mudflats where other sandpipers congregate. They are typically seen alone or in small groups, sometimes loosely associating with other shorebirds but often keeping apart. Early morning and late afternoon are the best times to spot them as they feed among low vegetation.