Using his long beak, a Sandpiper digs for sand crabs along the Santa Monica shoreline at dusk on Monday, November 17, 2008. Sandpiper, common name for some members of the large family Scolopacidae, small shore birds that eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Different lengths of bills enable different species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.