Sanderling: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the sanderling lives – recorded in 104 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Calidris alba
Group	Waders, gulls, terns & auks
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	104 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America
Class	Bird
Order	Charadriiformes
Family	Scolopacidae

Where does the sanderling live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the sanderling in 104 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Nanling Mountains, Africa, Brazil, South America.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the sanderling endangered?

The sanderling’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the sanderling?

The sanderling (Calidris alba) is a bird in the order Charadriiformes and the family Scolopacidae, genus Calidris. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the sanderling

The sanderling (Calidris alba) is a small wading bird. It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, being among the most extreme northern breeding birds in the world, nesting only on the coldest tundra, north of the 5°C July isotherm; in Europe, its southernmost breeding locality is Svalbard, where only a handful (5–15) pairs breed. It is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, western and southern Europe, Africa, and Australia. It is highly gregarious in winter, sometimes forming large flocks on coastal mudflats or sandy beaches.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Sanderling (revision 1380703909), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q58958 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).