Ecology and Vulnerability

Birds: Shorebirds

Shorebirds are a large and diverse subcategory of bird species. Shorebirds have evolved to have many different body types, including varying beak or bill lengths and structures, to reduce competition for food resources with co-occuring species ². A number of shorebirds have bills with extra-sensitive nerve endings so that they can find prey in a variety of habitat types including under soil, mud, or sand ². Common shorebirds in Eastern Massachusetts include the piping plover (among other plovers), killdeer, sanderling, and multiple species of sandpiper ¹.