Waders, their bills, on the breeding grounds

[Carl Clifford <>]

Hi Jill,

I have just finished a look at a selection of species in Hayman,
Marchant and Prater's "Shorebirds", looking at as wide a range of bill  
lengths and shapes as possible. It seems that the bill length, shape,  
etc. is an adaptation for specialist feeding in the non-breeding
(wintering) grounds. A good example is the Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Eurynorhychus pygmaeus, which feeds in its wintering grounds by
sweeping its spatulate bill side-to-side through shallow water or soft  
mud to catch small invertebrates, but in the nesting grounds feeds by  
catching insects on land near freshwater pools. So I guess the answer  
to your enquirer's question is no.
Cheers,

Carl Clifford


On 30/09/2008, at 7:59 PM, Jill Dening wrote:

Hi All,

I was recently asked a question about waders which totally fazed me. I  
was asked if the length of the bill of different species of wader is
of any advantage on the breeding grounds.

This came up in respect to my saying that here, where waders live in
coastal regions, the length of the bill can allow different species to  
feed together in intertidal estuaries without competing. I described
the intertidal substrate as like a department store with several
floors, where different species bought their food on different floors.  
And then one thinking person asked the question above.
I want to be able to get back to this person with an answer. I didn't  
find any reference to it in my library. I have never been to the
breeding grounds, but there the waders are scattered over thousands of  
kms, where I imagine the bill length is no competitive advantage. They  
are not communal breeders. I have never heard the bill length
discussed in any context relating to the breeding grounds.

Can anyone help? Can the bill length help some species to eat certain  
food on the breeding grounds?
Cheers,

Jill
 --
Jill Dening
Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

26° 51' 41"S  152° 56' 00"E
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