PAKHI DEKHOON PAKHI CHINOON ... OBSERVE THE BIRD AND RECOGNIZE...SANDARLING

PAKHI DEKHOON PAKHI CHINOON #627... OBSERVE THE BIRD AND RECOGNIZE...SANDARLING... WATERCOLOUR...A4.. 2016...[From the photograph of MR. DILIPSINH CHUDASAMA] ... The sanderling (Calidris alba) is a small wading bird. It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, South Europe, Africa, and Australia. It is highly gregarious in winter, sometimes forming large flocks on coastal mudflats or sandy beaches.
In spring, the birds arrive on the High Arctic breeding grounds , where they lay 3–4 eggs in a ground scrape. On the nesting grounds, these birds mainly eat insects and some plant material.
The sanderling is a small plump sandpiper, 18–20 cm (7.1–7.9 in) in length. Its weight ranges from 40–100 g (1.4–3.5 oz). The winter bird is very pale, almost white apart from a dark shoulder patch. This is the source of the specific name, alba, which is the Latin for "white". Later in the summer, the face and throat become brick-red. The juvenile bird is spangled black and white, and shows much more contrast than the adult.
If its size is misjudged, a sanderling in breeding plumage can be mistaken for some varieties of stint, or a sanderling in winter plumage can be mistaken for a dunlin or red knot.
The sanderling is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.[INFO:WIKIPEDIA]