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  1. Species
  2. ›
  3. Scolopacidae
  4. ›
  5. Calidris
  6. ›
  7. Broad-billed Sandpiper
Broad-billed Sandpiper
Photo · (c) Andrew Allen, some rights reserved (CC BY)

BirdUp · Species

Broad-billed Sandpiper

Calidris falcinellus(Pontoppidan, 1763)

Updated 21 March 2026

Origin: Native
Order
CHARADRIIFORMES
Family
Scolopacidae
Genus
Calidris

At a glance

The Broad-billed Sandpiper is a small bird, about 16–18 cm long, native to Australia. It can be seen year-round.

Size
16–18 cm
Origin
Native
Best seen
Year-round
Commonness
Very common
  • Identification
  • Where
  • When
  • Behaviour
  • Gallery

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

What does a Broad-billed Sandpiper look like?

The Broad-billed Sandpiper is a small bird, about 16–18 cm long and weighing 26–74 g.

The broad-billed sandpiper is a small wading bird. The scientific specific name falcinellus is the diminutive from Latin falx, falcis, "a small sickle". It was formerly treated in its own monospecific genus Limicola, but this was found to be embedded within the wider genus Calidris, into which it was transferred in 2004.

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Field specs

Length
16–18 cm
Weight
25.6–74 g

Measurements · avonet · CC BY 4.0

03 · When

When to look

When can you see a Broad-billed Sandpiper?

The Broad-billed Sandpiper is present across its Australian range year-round, so it can be seen in any month.

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

05 · Behaviour

Habits and haunts

What does a Broad-billed Sandpiper eat?

The Broad-billed Sandpiper feeds on intertidal invertebrates and fish/invertebrates, usually foraging in flocks or alone.

06 · Gallery

Plumage up close

2 photos

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02 · Where

Where to find it

Where does the Broad-billed Sandpiper live in Australia?

The Broad-billed Sandpiper is native to Australia, recorded across 27 of Australia’s bioregions, with a core range spanning patchily in low Arctic to subarctic tundra bogs of north Palearctic.

BreedingPatchily in low Arctic to subarctic tundra bogs of north Palearctic: Scandinavia to Kanin Pen. (north-west Russia); Taimyr Pen. (north-west Siberia) and Lena to Kolyma rivers (north-east Siberia)

Non-breedingAF, OR, AU : Paleotropical coasts, east Africa, Red Sea and Persian Gulf through south-east Asia, Indonesian Arch., south New Guinea and Australia (except south-west, south-central, Tasmania)

Distribution from BirdUp Australia community data

Legend

  • Breeding
  • Resident

6 regions recorded