Upland Sandpiper

Bartramia longicaudaOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)

Codes: Common Name: UPSA Scientific Name: BARLON ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176610

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Overview

Upland Sandpiper: Large bird, dark-spotted, brown upperparts, black rump. White chin, neck, throat. Breast and sides streaked with dark chevrons, white belly. Dark cap, white eye-rings. Bill is thin, olive-brown, decurved at tip. Wedge-shaped tail has dark center and barred edges visible in flight.

Range and Habitat

Upland Sandpiper: Breeds from central Maine west through Canada to southern Alaska; southeast to northern Utah, northwestern Oklahoma, and northern Texas, and east to central Tennessee, Virginia, and Maryland. Spends winters in South America from southern Brazil to south-central Argentina. Preferred habitats include large fallow fields, pastures, and grassy areas.

Topo Map: Sandpiper-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"pulip pulip"

Interesting Facts

The Upland Sandpiper is the "shorebird of the prairie". While most of its relatives are never found far from water, this species has made itself at home on the grasslands.

Older names are the Upland Plover and Bartram's Sandpiper. The genus name and the old common name Bartram's Sandpiper commemorate the American naturalist William Bartram.

Once abundant in the Great Plains, it has undergone steady population declines since the mid-19th century, because of hunting and loss of habitat.

A group of sandpipers has many collective nouns, including a "bind", "contradiction", "fling", "hill", and "time-step" of sandpipers.

Bird Term Glossary

Author

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Upland Sandpiper

● Song: "pulip pulip"

● Foraging & Feeding: Upland Sandpiper: Feeds on insects, centipedes, millipedes, spiders, earthworms, and snails; occasionally eats waste grains and other seeds.

● Breeding & nesting: Upland Sandpiper: Four pale buff to pink buff eggs, speckled with red brown, are laid in a ground depression lined with dry grass. Incubation ranges from 21 to 27 days and is carried out by both parents. Young fly at about 30 to 31 days.

● Similar species: Upland Sandpiper: Buff-breasted Sandpiper is much smaller, has black bill, short yellow legs, plain buff face and underparts, shorter tail, and silver wing linings.

Flight Pattern

Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: Upland Sandpiper: Breeds from central Maine west through Canada to southern Alaska; southeast to northern Utah, northwestern Oklahoma, and northern Texas, and east to central Tennessee, Virginia, and Maryland. Spends winters in South America from southern Brazil to south-central Argentina. Preferred habitats include large fallow fields, pastures, and grassy areas.

^BreedingMonogamous, Loose colonies

^Population

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight4.8 Ounces

Sandpiper-like Body

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Belly

The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Cap

The area on top of the head of the bird.

Chin

The area of the face just below the bill.

Rump

The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America