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Solitary Sandpiper

Tringa solitariaOrder: CHARADRIIFORMESFamily: Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)
Solitary Sandpiper Head Illustration

Head

  • Bill Shape: Dagger
  • Eye Color: Dark brown to chestnut.
  • Head Pattern: Streaked, Eyering (complete or broken), Special (unique patterns or features)
  • Crown Color: Dark gray-brown heavily streaked with buff-white.
  • Forehead Color: Dark gray-brown heavily streaked with buff-white.
  • Nape Color: Dark gray-brown heavily streaked with buff-white.
  • Throat Color: Dark gray-brown heavily streaked with buff-white.
  • Cere color: No Data
Solitary Sandpiper Body Illustration

Body

  • Length Range: 20-23 cm (8-9 in)
  • Weight: 48 g (1.7 oz)
  • Size: Size 2. Small (5 - 9 in)
  • Color: White, Brown, Black, Buff
  • Underparts: White
  • Upperparts: Dark gray-brown heavily spotted with buff-white.
  • Back Pattern: Spotted or speckled
  • Belly Pattern: Solid
  • Breast Pattern: Striped or streaked
Solitary Sandpiper Flight Illustration

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Light buoyant swallowlike direct flight, Often zigzags on takeoff.
  • Wingspan Range: 38-43 cm (15-17 in)
  • Wing Shape: Tapered-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Pointed Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Barred
  • Upper Tail: White with dark central feathers.
  • Under Tail: White
  • Leg Color: Yellow-green
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Family Sandpiper (Scolopacidae)_blue
Species Tringa solitaria
Length8 - 9 Inches
Wingspan16 Inches

Solitary Sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper, pale-spotted, dark brown back and rump, white underparts with streaks on neck and sides. Head is dark, eye-ring is bold white. Tail is black with conspicuous black-and-white barred edges. Bill, legs, and feet are olive-green. Direct flight is light and bouyant.

● Song: "plik", "peet-weet"

● Foraging & Feeding: Solitary Sandpiper: Feeds mostly on terrestrial and aquatic insects, spiders, frogs, worms, and crustaceans. Forages in shallow water with its pliable, sensitive-tipped bill; wades to breast level and actively picks and jabs at prey.

● Breeding & nesting: Solitary Sandpiper: Four to five olive eggs marked with brown are laid in an abandoned Rusty Blackbird, Bohemian Waxwing, Gray Jay, or American Robin nest; occasionally builds own cup-shaped nest. Incubation ranges from 23 to 24 days and is carried out by the female. Young fly at 17 to 20 days.

● Similar species: Solitary Sandpiper: Lesser Yellowlegs has longer, yellow legs and white rump. Stilt Sandpiper has white rump.

Flight Pattern

Light buoyant swallowlike direct flight, Often zigzags on takeoff.
Solitary Sandpiper Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Solitary Sandpiper: Breeds in wooded northland of Canada and Alaska. Spends winters from the southern states and the West Indies south to central South America. Preferred habitats include swampy margins of brackish pools, freshwater ponds, and woodland streams.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationFairly common on breeding grounds
MigrationMigratory
Weight1.7 Ounces