Upland Sandpiper Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  A shorebird with unusual proportions: long legs, a long, thin neck, small dovelike head, large eye, and thin, straight bill. The tail and the wings are long.

  Relative Size

  Larger than a Lesser Yellowlegs, slightly smaller than a Greater Yellowlegs.

  between robin and crow

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 11.0-12.6 in (28-32 cm)
    • Weight: 3.4-8.0 oz (97-226 g)
    • Wingspan: 18.5 in (47 cm)

  © Brian Sullivan / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  Adults and young are marbled golden brown and blackish above. They are white below, with dark streaks and chevron-shaped markings on the breast and sides. The throat is white and they have a white eyering.

• Behavior

  Forages by walking briskly through shortgrass habitats, picking invertebrates and seeds from the ground and vegetation. Males perch on fence posts during breeding season and make graceful, circular song flights over the breeding territory, sometimes accompanied by females. Migrates in groups at night, often calling back and forth.
• Habitat

  Nests in native prairie, cropland, pastureland, mountain meadows, dry tundra, and similar grassland environments. Migrates quickly to wintering areas in grasslands called pampas and llanos in South America, similar in structure to their nesting habitat. Migrants often stop over in agricultural fields.