Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularia)

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A Field Guide to Eastern Birds. by Roger Tory Peterson.

Return to Eastern Shorebirds

Summer Plumage

Color Photograph: © by and courtesy of John Cassady

Winter Plumage

Color Photographs: © by and courtesy of Stuart Healy Western U.S. Bird Guide

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Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularia)

Identification: Length from tip of bill to tip of tail 7 to 8 inches. When on the ground this species constantly wags its tail up and down.

Summer Plumage: Head, neck, back, and wings brown. Wings vaguely marked with darker brown. Head with a brown crown margined with a white band between it and the eye. A thin brown line runs through the eye. Bill dull orange with a black tip. Sides brown and underside white with large, black spots. Legs yellow-orange, average in length, although slightly longer than in most of the sandpipers.

Winter Plumage: Similar to the summer plumage, but slightly duller and the underside without large, black spots.

Similar Species:  The Spotted Sandpiper is easily identified by a combination of its brown crown and white eye line, and its habit of constanting wagging its tail up and down. The Wandering Tattler, a species of the western mountains and rocky Pacific coasts, is a similar species. However the Wandering Tattler is a darker, grayer bird. The breeding plummage of the Wandering Tattler has dark lines, not spots on the white underside.

Breeding Range (see map below): The Spotted Sandpiper breeds throughout most of North America except for the extreme north and the southern United States.

Overwintering Range:  This species overwinters in the southern United States and along the Pacific and southern Atlantic coasts. The Spotted Sandpiper also overwinters in much of the New World tropics.

Habitat: The Spotted Sandpiper is found along lakes, ponds, and streams inland, and along the ocean shore.

Food: Aquatic invertebrates.

Behavior: The Spotted Sandpiper is one of the commonest and most widespread of North American shorebirds. Its habit of constantly bobbing its rear up and down is distinctive. Its flight is also distinctive with short bursts of rapid wing flaps alternating with short glides. The voice is a clear peet-weet.

Reproduction:  The clutch consists of 4 brown-spotted tan eggs. The eggs are laid in a ground depression lined with moss and grass.