Actitis macularia
The Spotted Sandpiper is the most commonly encountered sandpiper in the Rocky Mountains, as well as throughout North America. Its stiff-winged, arthritic flight is commonly seen low over riverbanks, lakeshores, ponds and most wetlands. It wasn't until 1972 that the unexpected truths about the Spotted Sandpiper's breeding activities were realized. Similar to the phalaropes, female Spotted Sandpipers were defending territories and leaving the males to tend the nests and eggs. This unusual nesting behavior-polyandry (from the Greek for 'many men')-is found in only about one percent of all bird species. The scientific name macularia is Latin for 'spotted.' |
I.D.: Sexes similar: teeters continuously. Breeding: white underparts are heavily spotted with black (slightly more so in the female); yellow-orange legs; yellow-orange, black-tipped bill; white eyebrow. Non-breeding and Juvenile: pure white breast; brown bill; dull yellow legs. Size: L 7-8 in. (18-20 cm). Range: common migrant and summer breeder throughout the Rockies. Habitat: shorelines, gravel beaches, ponds, rivers, marshes, alluvial wetlands and streams up to 6000 ft. (1800 m). Nesting: usually near water; often under overhanging vegetation, among logs or under bushes; in a shallow depression lined with grass; male almost exclusively incubates and raises the 4 young. Feeding: picks and gleans along shorelines for terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates; also snatches flying insects from the air. Voice: sharp, crisp eat-wheat, eat-wheat, wheat-wheat-wheat-wheat. Similar Species: Solitary Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs and other sandpipers: all lack the spotted breast. Baird's Sandpiper: doesn't teeter; lacks the obvious spotting on the underparts; present only in migration. |
