Species BirdsSurfbird

Surfbird

Calidris virgata

UncommonBird
Illustration of Surfbird (Calidris virgata)

The Surfbird is a plover-like sandpiper of rocky Pacific shores, where it forages on wave-washed boulders and kelp-covered rocks for mussels and barnacles. It is an inconspicuous gray bird in winter but develops a striking black-and-chestnut spotted pattern in breeding plumage. It breeds on rocky ridges in Alaska and the Yukon.

Habitat
Rocky Pacific coastlines in winter; alpine tundra in summer
Diet
Mussels, barnacles, and other rocky intertidal invertebrates
How common
Uncommon

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