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Shorebirds

Charadriiformes

Shorebirds are a broad, common-name group of birds (mostly within the order Charadriiformes) adapted for feeding along shorelines and shallow wetlands. The group typically includes sandpipers (like red knots), plovers, avocets and stilts, oystercatchers, and phalaropes. They’re often recognizable by long legs and long, slender bills, and many feed mainly on aquatic and marine invertebrates, frequently on intertidal mudflats and tidal flats, which can be critical refueling areas during migration. Many shorebirds are long-distance migrants that move along major flyways and concentrate at key coastal stopover sites.

Shorebirds are a broad, common-name group of birds (mostly within the order Charadriiformes) adapted for feeding along shorelines and shallow wetlands. The group typically includes sandpipers (like red knots), plovers, avocets and stilts, oystercatchers, and phalaropes. They’re often recognizable by long legs and long, slender bills, and many feed mainly on aquatic and marine invertebrates, frequently on intertidal mudflats and tidal flats, which can be critical refueling areas during migration. Many shorebirds are long-distance migrants that move along major flyways and concentrate at key coastal stopover sites.