Sandpipers

The Sandpipers are characters that appear in the 2016 Disney/Pixar animated short Piper.
==Background==
Most of the sandpipers seen in Piper are shown to have the size of what a real-life adult sandpiper looks like - identical to each other in having long bodies, two narrow wings, a plumage of white feathers around their body as well as having gray spotting on their wings as well as two medium long legs compared to Piper who is of diminutive size. In addition to their appearance, they are shown to be social animals gathered in flocks - often when it comes to them finding food at the shoreline with the tide being a challenge for them.
==Role in the short==
The sandpipers are seen running on the sand at the shoreline while avoiding the tide, just as they rush back and forth. Later, Piper and her mother are introduced where they nest behind tall grass, just as Piper's mother arrives at the shoreline where the other sandpipers are at with the tide being calm. As the sandpipers arrive at the shoreline to look for food, Piper's mother encourages her daughter to go to the spot where she found a clam, which Piper feels excited about this. Piper arrives at the area where her mother found food, so she asks her mother to give her food, only for her to tell her daughter to find her own clam. However, as the wave arrives, the sandpipers retreat from the incoming wave while Piper is left behind to be soaked by the waves. Later, Piper returns to the shoreline where the sandpipers return to find food before the tide rises, only to be helped by some hermit crabs who help her conquer her fear of water; thanks to this, Piper became optimistic in conquering her fear with resilience and tenacity in herself.
Furthermore after Piper conquers her fear of water, she becomes spontaneous that she managed to conquer her hydrophobia, thanks to her optimism just as the other sandpipers arrive at the shoreline where they were looking for food. Piper's mother later notices her daughter feeling confident about this, feeling proud of her courage. Piper then delivers more clams for the sandpipers to eat, making the other sandpipers happy about her confidence. Piper then rushes towards the tide so the sandpipers can make way for her, proving herself that she no longer fears the tide.
==Trivia==
*According to the audio commentary included in Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 3, the opening scene where the sandpipers first appear was one of the most difficult scenes to animate - specifically the timing between the rhythm of the waves close to being perfect with the waves interacting with the animated characters, making it one of the hardest scenes to animate.Piper Audio Commentary (Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 3, 2018)
*Due to the fact that there are many adult sandpipers in the short, there seems to be no other sandpiper hatchlings aside from Piper herself.
==References==
Category:Pixar characters
Category:Birds
Category:Characters
Category:Animated characters
Category:Characters who fly
Category:Silent characters
Category:Adults