Spotted Sandpipers

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Spotted Sandpipers are really neat shorebirds. They are a bit different than most birds in that the Male incubates and raises the Chicks..The female often practices polyandry and can breed with multiple males, each male raising chicks. In other cases the female may just breed with one male and male even help rear the chicks a bit. The female actually establishes the territory and defends it. Most sandpipers are found along coastal waterways, but these sandpipers are usually on the shores of rivers and lakes.

Spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularius) by Al Sabetta, on Flickr

Spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularius) by Al Sabetta, on Flickr

Spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularius) by Al Sabetta, on Flickr

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As a side note, Male Red-winged Blackbirds are similar in that they are polygynous. A breeding male Red-winged Blackbird can have up to 15 mates, though usually they have 5 or so including dummy nests. Interestingly enough, those females also often mate with other males. This probably explains why there is no shortage of Red-winged Blackbirds!