Medium-sized (about 19 cm or 7.5 in) and stylized wader bird. Black bill, longer than that of other sandpipers and downcurved. Also longer and blacker legs. In winter white belly and throat. Greyish brown upperparts and head. Very marked white eyebrow. In summer the belly, throat and head have a reddish rust tone and the upperparts, flanks and crown are brown, striated in dark tones. In flight the Curlew Sandpiper shows a distinctive white rump.
Wetlands
Coasts of Siberia during the breeding season. Saline wetlands of shallow waters near the coast in winter.
Species that can be observed only during the migratory passage in the province. Nest on the ground, among bushes. One laying of 4 eggs. It feeds on insects, small crustaceans and seeds.
It can be watched at the mouth of the Guadalhorce and at the Fuente de Piedra and Campillos lagoons.
Due to the size and shape of its bill, the Curlew Sandpiper has access to different food resources from the other sandpipers, since it can reach invertebrates buried deeper. This type of birds reaches distances of almost ten thousand kilometers (more than 6,000 miles) between their breeding and wintering areas.
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