page_title: List of birds of South Africa
section_title: Sandpipers and allies
hierarchical_section_title: List of birds of South Africa / Sandpipers and allies
caption_attribution_description: Marsh Sandpiper, non breeding plumage taken in Victoria Australia
context_page_description: South Africa is a large country, ranked 25th by size in the world, and is situated in the temperate latitudes and subtropics. Due to a range of climate types present, a patchwork of unique habitat types occur, which contribute to its biodiversity and level of endemism. This list incorporates the mainland and nearshore islands and waters only. The submerged though ecologically important Agulhas Bank is for most part inside its territorial waters. Offshore, South Africa's territory includes the Prince Edward Islands in the Subantarctic Indian Ocean.
  This list's taxonomic treatment and nomenclature are those of The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 2019 edition, except that South African spelling is used. Taxonomic changes are on-going. As more research is gathered from studies of distribution, behaviour and DNA, the order and number of families and species may change. Furthermore, different approaches to ornithological nomenclature have led to concurrent systems of classification.
  Unless otherwise noted, the list is that of BirdLife South Africa. Notes in the status column are also from this source.
context_section_description: Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Scolopacidae
  Scolopacidae is a large diverse family of small to medium-sized shorebirds including the sandpipers, curlews, godwits, shanks, tattlers, woodcocks, snipes, dowitchers, and phalaropes. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Variation in length of legs and bills enables multiple species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.
caption: Marsh sandpiper