White-rumped Sandpiper

Calidris fuscicollisOrder: CHARADRIIFORMESFamily: Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)

General

White-rumped Sandpiper: Small sandpiper with brown and black scaled upperparts and distinct white rump. Neck and upper breast are white with brown streaks. Streaked head has white eyebrows and dark eyestripes. Thin white stripes on dark wings are visible in flight. Tail is rounded and black. Legs are dark and feet have no webbing. Sexes are similar. Winter adult is grayer and is less streaked on breast.

Range and Habitat

White-rumped Sandpiper: Breeds in northern Alaska and Canadian Arctic. Long-distance migrant, wintering as far south as the outer islands of Antarctica. During migration, found in mudflats, flooded fields, shallow marshes, beaches, and sandbars.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"jeeet"

Interesting Facts

The White-rumped Sandpiper was first described in 1819 by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot, a French ornithologist.

Hybrids between this species and the Dunlin are occasionally found in northeastern North America, it is also suspected to hybridize with the Buff-breasted Sandpiper.

It actually has dark rump feathers. The white feathers at the base of the tail are the upper tail coverts, special feathers that cover the base of the stiff tail feathers.

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

Author

Gary Owen Dick

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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.

White-rumped Sandpiper

White-rumped Sandpiper: Small sandpiper, brown and black scaled upperparts, distinct white rump. Neck and upper breast are white with brown streaks. Streaked head has white eyebrows, dark eyestripes. Thin white stripes on dark wings visible in flight. Tail is rounded and black. Dark legs and feet.

● Song: "jeeet"

● Foraging & Feeding: White-rumped Sandpiper: Feeds on insects, marine worms, mollusks, crustaceans, leaches, seeds, and other vegetation.

● Breeding & nesting: White-rumped Sandpiper: Three to four brown marked, olive to light green eggs are laid in a ground nest made of lichens, moss, and leaves. Incubation ranges from 21 to 22 days and is carried out by the female. Young fly at 16 to 17 days.

● Similar species: White-rumped Sandpiper: Baird's Sandpiper wings do not extend beyond tail and lacks white rump.

Flight Pattern

Strong direct flight with deep rapid wing beats.

White-rumped Sandpiper Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: White-rumped Sandpiper: Breeds in northern Alaska and Canadian Arctic. Long-distance migrant, wintering as far south as the outer islands of Antarctica. During migration, found in mudflats, flooded fields, shallow marshes, beaches, and sandbars.

^BreedingPolygamous

^PopulationFairly common

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight1.2 Ounces

Field Guide to Birds of North America