---
title: "Pectoral Sandpiper"
description: "Calidris melanotos — Birds. The pectoral sandpiper (Calidris melanotos), often abbreviated pec, is a small, migratory wader that breeds in arctic regions of North America and Asia, wintering in South America and Oceania."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/pectoral-sandpiper
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Pectoral Sandpiper

> Calidris melanotos — Birds. The pectoral sandpiper (Calidris melanotos), often abbreviated pec, is a small, migratory wader that breeds in arctic regions of North America and Asia, wintering in South America and Oceania.

- Scientific name: *Calidris melanotos*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lakes & rivers), `arctic` (Arctic)
- iNaturalist observations: 17959
- Wikidata: [Q260716](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q260716)
- iNaturalist taxon: [3865](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/3865)

## Names

- en: Pectoral Sandpiper
- de: Graubruststrandläufer
- es: Playero Pectoral
- fr: Bécasseau tacheté
- nl: Gestreepte strandloper
- pt: Pilrito-peitoral
- pl: Biegus arktyczny

## Countries with the most observations

US (10107), CA (2806), AR (1266), MX (525), BR (273), AU (225), GB (133), PE (122), RU (82), NI (76), FR (74), UY (70)

## Summary

The pectoral sandpiper (Calidris melanotos), often abbreviated pec, is a small, migratory wader that breeds in arctic regions of North America and Asia, wintering in South America and Oceania. It eats small invertebrates. Its nest, a hole scraped in the ground and with a thick lining, is deep enough to protect its four eggs from the cool breezes of its breeding grounds. The pectoral sandpiper is 19–23 cm (7.5–9.1 in) long, with a wingspan of 38–46 cm (15–18 in).

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pectoral_sandpiper

## Photo

![Pectoral Sandpiper](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/pectoral-sandpiper/medium.jpg)

Photo: Dario Taraborelli · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/141039526

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/pectoral-sandpiper?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).