Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus)

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

Return to Eastern Shorebirds

Winter Plumage

Color Photograph: © by and courtesy of John Cassady

Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus)

Identification: Length from tip of bill to tip of tail 8.5 inches. A long-legged bird with a long, narrow, slightly downcurved bill.

Summer Plumage: Back and wings gray, mottled with darker gray and white. Crown dark gray-brown. Side of head dull, light gray. Bill long, narrow, slightly downcurved. Throat, breast, and underside white with horizontal, irregular bands of black. Legs long, dark yellow-green.

Winter Plumage: Similar to the summer plumage, but with the dark markings greatly reduced, mostly restricted to the sides.

Similar Species:  The Stilt Sandpiper is most likely to be confused with the Greater Yellow Yellowlegs and the Lesser Yellowlegs. Both of these species are larger (14 and 10.5 inches respectively). The bills of these two species are straight, not curved downward.

Breeding Range (see map below): The Stilt Sandpiper breeds on the far northern tundra of Canada and Alaska.

Overwintering Range:  This species overwinters in Florida and along the Gulf Coast of the United States. Lesser numbers are found in southern California.

Habitat: The Stilt Sandpiper is found around grassy ponds and lakes in the tundra. Overwintering individuals are found in fresh and saltwater marshes and on mudflats.

Food: Aquatic invertebrates.

Behavior:  Stilt Sandpipers are commonly associated with yellowlegs and dowitchers and feed in much the same way as waders in shallow water. The voice is a tu-tu.

Reproduction:  The clutch consists of 4 brown-spotted light tan eggs. The eggs are laid on open ground, usually in a tussock of grass near water.