Least Sandpiper

Calidris minutillaOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)

Codes: Common Name: LESA Scientific Name: CALMIL ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176656

Head

Topo Map: Sandpiper-like Head

Bill Shape: Dagger
Eye Color: Dark brown.
Head Pattern: Eyeline, Streaked
Crown Color: Brown and black streaked.
Forehead Color: Brown
Nape Color: Brown and black streaked.
Throat Color: Pale brown and brown streaked.
Cere color: No Data

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Body

Topo Map: Sandpiper-like Body

Length Range: 15 cm (6 in)
Weight: 23 g (0.8 oz)
Size: Size 2. Small (5 - 9 in)
Color: White, Brown, Gray, Rufous or Rust, Buff
Underparts: Pale brown breast with brown streaks; white belly and sides.
Upperparts: Brown and gray feathers with rust-brown and pale brown edges.
Back Pattern: Striped or streaked
Belly Pattern: Solid
Breast Pattern: Striped or streaked

Flight

Topo Map: Sandpiper-like Flight

Flight Pattern: Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Wingspan Range: 28-30 cm (11-12 in)
Wing Shape: Tapered-Wings
Tail Shape: Pointed Tail
Tail Pattern: Solid
Upper Tail: White with broad brown-black center stripe.
Under Tail: White
Leg Color: Yellow-green

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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.

Least Sandpiper

Least Sandpiper: Small sandpiper, brown-scaled upperparts, rust-brown crown. Breast, throat are dark-spotted; belly, undertail are white. Wings have thin, white stripes visible in flight. Black line on rump extends onto tail. Legs and feet are yellow-green. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.

● Song: "dididididi", "preeep", "pree-rreeep"

● Foraging & Feeding: Least Sandpiper: Feeds on insects, seeds, and aquatic invertebrates; also eats crustaceans, marine worms, and mollusks on the coast. Usually feeds in a communal area distant from nesting grounds; forages by gleaning and probing on mudflats and beaches.

● Breeding & nesting: Least Sandpiper: Three or four dark brown-spotted, olive pink or buff eggs are laid in a ground depression lined with grass and moss. Incubation ranges from 19 to 23 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Least Sandpiper: Semipalmated Sandpiper is slightly larger, has grayer upperparts, and black legs and feet.

Flight Pattern

Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: Least Sandpiper: Breeds from Alaska to Labrador and, in the east, south to Nova Scotia and, recently, Massachusetts. Spends winters from the southern U.S. to central South America and the West Indies. Frequents sandy beaches and exposed tidal flats.

^BreedingMonogamous, Colonial

^Population

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight0.8 Ounces

Sandpiper-like Head

Sandpiper-like Body

Sandpiper-like Flight

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

Least Sandpiper

Head

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Body

Flight

Least Sandpiper

Flight Pattern