A sandpiper is a small bird that lives near the shore. It has long thin legs and a long beak, and it runs over wet sand and mud looking for food. You often see sandpipers in little groups at the edge of the water, picking at the sand as the waves go in and out. The name is sand + piper: “piper” is for the high, thin call, like a small pipe. It is not a person who plays music. There are many kinds; people use sandpiper for this whole group of small shore birds, not only one exact species.