Pectoral Sandpiper

How to find it

Check wet roadside fields first, since birders have had close views there in good light. Wet fields only work when they are soaking wet, so choose a spot from which you can see the wet area. In Guanacaste's dry zone, flooded rice fields on the road to Playa Hermosa and on the way into Palo Verde are worth a look, though they hold fewer birds than natural wetlands. Go early there, roughly 5:30 to 8:00 in the morning, then rest in the shade until mid-afternoon. Scan the grass edges as well as the mud, and listen for the low 'churt' if a bird is flushed.

How to recognise it

This is a medium-sized sandpiper, larger than most others in its genus and larger than the small 'peep' sandpipers. Next to the small Calidris it is bigger, with a longer neck, a fairly stout body and a small head. The male is much larger than the female.

The key mark is the breast: dark brown and streaked, or stippled, it ends in a sharp, abrupt line against the white belly.

Other marks to check:

- a cream eyebrow stripe, paler than the rest of the head

- yellowish legs

- a bill with a yellow base

The streaked bib, the clean white belly and the yellow legs make a simple checklist for a beginner.

What it sounds like

Recording: Dan MacNeal, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

It probes mud for worms and insect larvae, and it also walks over grass hunting insects. In Costa Rica it is found alone or in groups, mostly in spring. Birders have noted that it often stops in wet fields.

It prefers open grassy plains with shallow puddles over bare coastal mudflats. On migration, flocks can turn up on salt pans or mudbanks.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it ranges from the lowlands on both slopes up to about 1600 m in the central mountains, and it is also found along the Pacific coast. Its habitat is flooded fields, pond edges and marshes. Besides coastal sites, visitors can find it in flooded rice fields and open grassy marshes. One photo record places it at Laguna Doña Ana in Paraíso, Cartago Province.

When to see it

It passes through from late August to late November and again from early April to late May.

Similar birds

It looks much like the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, which is not a close relative in the genus. Against the small 'peep' sandpipers, its larger size and the sharp line between streaked breast and white belly set it apart. Yellowish legs and the yellow bill base help as well.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Sandpipers in Costa Rica are generally called correlimos, which one birding writer reads as 'little runners', a good fit for how they move. Besides the official name Correlimos Pechirrayado, other Spanish names include Correlimos Pectoral and Correlimos Pechirratado. The AOCR list also gives Patudo and Becacina, and one reference gives Playerito pecho gris.

Status and conservation

The official Costa Rican bird list marks it M, a Nearctic migrant, and it is rated least concern on the IUCN Red List.

Photography tips

Wet fields only work when they are soaking wet, and you need a spot from which you can see the wet area. Close views in good light are possible from the roadside.