Spoon-billed sandpiper

Calidris pygmaea

The Spoon-billed sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea) is a bird found in Russia, Thailand, China, Myanmar (Burma), Bangladesh and Vietnam. Arctic tundra coasts in eastern Russia, and mudflats in southeastern Asia in winter. It eats insects and other small invertebrates and seeds and nuts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Critically Endangered.

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Scientific name	Calidris pygmaea
Region	Asia
Found in	Russia, Thailand, China, Myanmar (Burma), Bangladesh and Vietnam

🏡 Where the Spoon-billed sandpiper lives

Arctic tundra coasts in eastern Russia, and mudflats in southeastern Asia in winter.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs80%
🌰 Seeds & nuts20%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Critically EndangeredAlmost gone from the wild.

💡 Its beak looks like a tiny spoon. Only a few hundred are left.

Hear the Spoon-billed sandpiper

Recorded by 雪鼬 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1038170. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Spoon-billed sandpiper

Where does the Spoon-billed sandpiper live?

The Spoon-billed sandpiper lives in Russia, Thailand, China, Myanmar (Burma), Bangladesh and Vietnam. Arctic tundra coasts in eastern Russia, and mudflats in southeastern Asia in winter.

What does the Spoon-billed sandpiper eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 80%), seeds and nuts (about 20%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Spoon-billed sandpiper endangered?

Almost gone from the wild. Its IUCN Red List category is Critically Endangered.

More birds from Asia

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.