List of Birds of Iowa - Sandpipers and Allies

Sandpipers and Allies

Order: Charadriiformes. Family: Scolopacidae

The Scolopacidae are a large diverse family of small to medium sized shorebirds including the Sandpipers, Curlews, Godwits, Shanks, Tattlers, Woodcocks, Snipes, Dowitchers and Phalaropes. The majority of species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Different lengths of legs and bills enable different species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food. There are thirty-three Iowa species.

• Spotted Sandpiper, Actitis macularia
• Solitary Sandpiper, Tringa solitaria
• Greater Yellowlegs, Tringa melanoleuca
• Willet, Tringa semipalmata
• Lesser Yellowlegs, Tringa flavipes
• Upland Sandpiper, Bartramia longicauda
• Eskimo Curlew, Numenius borealis (E)
• Whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus (C)
• Long-billed Curlew, Numenius americanus
• Hudsonian Godwit, Limosa haemastica
• Marbled Godwit, Limosa fedoa
• Ruddy Turnstone, Arenaria interpres
• Red Knot, Calidris canutus
• Sanderling, Calidris alba
• Semipalmated Sandpiper, Calidris pusilla
• Western Sandpiper, Calidris mauri
• Least Sandpiper, Calidris minutilla
• White-rumped Sandpiper, Calidris fuscicollis
• Baird's Sandpiper, Calidris bairdii
• Pectoral Sandpiper, Calidris melanotos
• Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Calidris acuminata (A)
• Dunlin, Calidris alpina
• Curlew Sandpiper, Calidris ferruginea (A)
• Stilt Sandpiper, Calidris himantopus
• Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Tryngites subruficollis
• Ruff, Philomachus pugnax (C)
• Short-billed Dowitcher, Limnodromus griseus
• Long-billed Dowitcher, Limnodromus scolopaceus
• Wilson's Snipe, Gallinago delicata
• American Woodcock, Scolopax minor
• Wilson's Phalarope, Phalaropus tricolor
• Red-necked Phalarope, Phalaropus lobatus
• Red Phalarope, Phalaropus fulicarius (C)