Spotted sandpiper

Actitis macularius

The Spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularius) is a bird found in United States, Canada and Mexico. Streams, ponds and lakes across North America. It eats insects and other small invertebrates and fish. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Actitis macularius
Region	North America
Found in	United States, Canada and Mexico

🏡 Where the Spotted sandpiper lives

Streams, ponds and lakes across North America.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs80%
🐟 Fish20%

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

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It bobs its tail all the time and flies with quick shallow wingbeats.

Hear the Spotted sandpiper

Recorded by Ricardo José Mitidieri (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC690395. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Spotted sandpiper

Where does the Spotted sandpiper live?

The Spotted sandpiper lives in United States, Canada and Mexico. Streams, ponds and lakes across North America.

What does the Spotted sandpiper eat?

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

Is the Spotted sandpiper endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from North America

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