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Sharp-tailed sandpiper

species of bird

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 25, 2026
Entity authorityQ753760
Source-derived summary

The sharp-tailed sandpiper (Calidris acuminata) is a small-medium migratory wader or shorebird, found mostly in Siberia during the summer breeding period (June to August) and Australia for wintering (September to March).

Taxonomy

Within the genus Calidris the sharp-tailed sandpiper is most closely related to the broad-billed sandpiper (Calidris falcinellus).

The genus name calidris comes from the Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific acuminata is from Latin acuminatus, 'sharp, pointed'.

Description

A small-medium wader, the portly sandpiper has a pot belly, flat back and somewhat drawn-out rear end. It has a mottled chestnut-brown upper body with sharp-looking feathers with a dark centre, a chestnut cap on its head and a brown stripe through each eye. Its bill is dark grey to black and straight, and its legs are olive- to yellow-coloured. The underparts are white or paler in colour, with the mottling similar to that on the breast and sides of the belly. The plumage is more vivid during the breeding season and duller in its winter plumage. The juveniles are brighter in colour in autumn and early winter than adults, with sharper feathers and brighter chestnut-coloured crowns contrasting with the white mantle stripes and bright, buffy chests.

Editorial summary

“Sharp-tailed sandpiper” enters the record as species of bird. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Sharp-tailed, sandpiper and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA sound reference starting point where classification, measurement and the date of the underlying evidence remain visible. The current 208-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Sharp-tailed, sandpiper and species.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Sharp-tailed sandpiper” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Sharp-tailed, sandpiper and species provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q753760. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

Critical limits

Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Sharp-tailed sandpiper” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.