Gould observed 'How much pleasure have they lost who have not seen this nimble and elegant species tripping over the pebbly bottoms of our rivulets or the greensward fringing the river-banks, or witnessed how it imparts life to the scene in the neighbourhood of the glassy Highland loch!'

Gould regarded the arrival of the sandpiper, like the swallow, in mid April with special interest, for it 'gives an additional zest to the anticipation of a forthcoming summer'.

The male and female are depicted with a nest of young and an egg.

DISTRIBUTION: Breeds in Eurasia from Iberia, British Isles east to Kamchatka, north to the Arctic circle, south to the Mediterranean, Himalayas, Mongolia, China, and Japan. Winters from south Europe and central Asia, south to South Africa, islands of the Indian Ocean, southeast Asia and Australia