Scolopacidae

Scolopacidae is a large family of shorebirds encompassing sandpipers, woodcocks, curlews and snipes, placed in the suborder Scolopaci of the order Charadriiformes. It contains 98 extant or recently extinct species divided into 15 genera and occurs across most terrestrial regions of the world except Antarctica and the most arid deserts, with most species breeding at moderate to high northern latitudes. Members range in size from the roughly 18 gram, 11 centimeter least sandpiper to the 66 centimeter Far Eastern curlew, and share elongated bodies and legs, narrow wings, and variable, highly sensitive bills that let them feel for food in mud and sand, a tactile foraging style that contrasts with the visual hunting of plovers.