This is a large and highly varied group of birds that do not have many outward similarities. Most are water birds that feed on invertebrates or small aquatic creatures. The order is well represented in Washington, with seven families:
This large and diverse family of shorebirds is made up mostly of northern breeders that migrate long distances. Their highly migratory nature leads them astray fairly frequently, and rarities often show up outside their normal range. Many of these mostly coastal birds forage in relation to the tides, rather than the time of day. They use a variety of foraging techniques, but the most common techniques are picking food from the ground or water, or probing into wet sand or mud. Those that probe generally have sensitive bills that open at the tips. Most members of this group eat small invertebrates. Many make dramatic, aerial display-flights during courtship. Nesting practices vary, but both parents typically help raise the young. Clutch size is usually four, and both parents generally incubate. The young are precocial and leave the nest within a day of the hatching of the last chick. Most feed themselves, although the parents generally tend the young for a varying period of time. The female typically abandons the group first, leaving the male to care for the young until they are independent.
Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
Solitary SandpiperTringa solitaria
Gray-tailed TattlerTringa brevipes
Wandering TattlerTringa incana
Greater YellowlegsTringa melanoleuca
WilletTringa semipalmata
Lesser YellowlegsTringa flavipes
Upland SandpiperBartramia longicauda
Little CurlewNumenius minutus
WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus
Bristle-thighed CurlewNumenius tahitiensis
Long-billed CurlewNumenius americanus
Hudsonian GodwitLimosa haemastica
Bar-tailed GodwitLimosa lapponica
Marbled GodwitLimosa fedoa
Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpres
Black TurnstoneArenaria melanocephala
SurfbirdAphriza virgata
Great KnotCalidris tenuirostris
Red KnotCalidris canutus
SanderlingCalidris alba
Semipalmated SandpiperCalidris pusilla
Western SandpiperCalidris mauri
Red-necked StintCalidris ruficollis
Little StintCalidris minuta
Temminck's StintCalidris temminckii
Least SandpiperCalidris minutilla
White-rumped SandpiperCalidris fuscicollis
Baird's SandpiperCalidris bairdii
Pectoral SandpiperCalidris melanotos
Sharp-tailed SandpiperCalidris acuminata
Rock SandpiperCalidris ptilocnemis
DunlinCalidris alpina
Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferruginea
Stilt SandpiperCalidris himantopus
Buff-breasted SandpiperTryngites subruficollis
RuffPhilomachus pugnax
Short-billed DowitcherLimnodromus griseus
Long-billed DowitcherLimnodromus scolopaceus
Jack SnipeLymnocryptes minimus
Wilson's SnipeGallinago delicata
Wilson's PhalaropePhalaropus tricolor
Red-necked PhalaropePhalaropus lobatus
Red PhalaropePhalaropus fulicarius