Stilt Sandpiper Calidris himantopus
- IdentificationVisual tips about this species
- BehaviourHabitat, behaviour, and food
- PopulationSubspecies and numbers
- ReproductionNesting and eggs
Identification
The Stilt Sandpiper, as its name suggests, has relatively long legs and is further distinguished by its long bill with a distinct droop at the tip. It often feeds and flocks with Lesser Yellowlegs and dowitchers, both of which are similarly colored. To add to the confusion, it walks like a yellowlegs, feeds with the sewing machine motion of a dowitcher and all three species show a white rump and dark wings in flight. It can be separated from the Lesser Yellowlegs by its green legs and pale eyebrow, and from the dowitchers by its longer legs and much shorter bill. In the winter it is gray above and white below but in summer it acquires distinctive rusty cheeks and heavy barring across the underparts.
Voice
Its call is a low, hoarse, ‘tew-tew’ similar to the call of the Lesser Yellowlegs.
Length
8.5in
Migration
Spring movement across the United States is in April and May, with the bulk of the migration moving directly up the Mississippi Valley and the Great Plains. Fall migration in July is a return down the same path, but with birds more commonly seen on the east coast.
Habitat
Breeds on the Arctic tundra. On migration it is found on flooded fields, lake shores, sewage ponds, potholes, mud flats and coastal habitats.
Food
Insects, marine worms, snails, and seeds, leaves and roots of aquatic plants.
Population trends
Reported numbers are up. The population is increasing or birders are getting better at identifying them.
Where in US
Breeds from northeastern Alaska, along the Arctic tundra, to Hudson Bay. It winters from the Salton Sea, southern Texas and southern Florida, to South America.
Nests
A shallow ground depression with little or no lining. The nest is located on the tundra, usually on raised dry ground near water.
Eggs
4, pale creamy-buff or olive-buff, with brown spots and blotches. Single-brooded.
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