Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis)

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

Return to Eastern Shorebirds

Color Painting: F.O. Morris

Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis)

Identification: Length from tip of bill to tip of tail 8 inches. Back brown mottled with white. Crown of head brown. Face, neck, breast, and the rest of the underside buff-colored. Sides marked with dark brown streaks. Bill short and straight. Legs yellowish.

Similar Species:  The Buff-breasted Sandpiper is easily identified by the buff-colored neck, face, breast, and undersides as well as the yellow legs. The Upland Plover is slightly similar but is much larger (11 to 12 inches in length), lacks the buff tints on its underside, and has a longer neck.

Breeding Range (see map below): The Buff-breasted Sandpiper breeds on the far northern tundra of northern Alaska and the Northwest Territories.

Overwintering Range:  This species migrates through the short-grass prairie of central Canada and the United States, overwintering in southern South America.

Habitat: The Buff-breasted Sandpiper breeds on the dry grassy tundra. During migration the species is most commonly seen in short-grass prairie and in other grassy areas such as fields and meadows.

Food: Insects.

Behavior: This species prefers to run rather than fly and is among the tamer of the shorebird species. Unlike most shorebirds it sticks to dry, grassy habitats. The voice is a tik-tik-tik.

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