Solitary Sandpiper

Tringa solitaria

Order Charadriiformes - Family Scolopacidae

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Reproduction
8. Conservation Status
9. Other Names

The Solitary Sandpiper is commonly seen in migration along the banks of ponds and creeks. While not truly solitary, it does not migrate in large flocks the way other shorebirds do.

Cool Facts

• Although the Solitary Sandpiper was first described by ornithologist Alexander Wilson in 1813, its nest was not discovered until 1903. Until that time, eggs and young of the Spotted Sandpiper were misidentified as those of the Solitary Sandpiper.

• The Solitary Sandpiper lays its eggs in the tree nests of several different song birds, particularly those of the American Robin, Rusty Blackbird, Eastern Kingbird, Gray Jay, and Cedar Waxwing.

• Of world?s 85 sandpiper species, only the Solitary Sandpiper and the Green Sandpiper of Eurasia routinely lay eggs in tree nests instead of on the ground.

Description

• Size: 19-23 cm (7-9 in)
• Weight: 31-65 g (1.09-2.29 ounces)

Medium-sized shorebird. Legs moderately long. Neck moderately long. Bill medium-sized. Back dark olive with scattered small white spots. Bold white eyering. Tail distinctly barred. Rump and center tail feathers dark. Frequently bobs its head.

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike, female slightly larger.

Immature

Similar to adult.

Similar Species

• Spotted Sandpiper constantly bobs its tail and occurs in same habitat, but is slightly smaller, has a white eyestripe, a less prominent white eyering, lacks white spotting on the back, and has a wingstripe in flight.
• Lesser Yellowlegs has long, bright yellow legs, a white rump, and a mostly white tail.

Sound

Call a high pitched whistled "weet, weet."

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds across Alaska and Canada, southward nearly to the United States border.

Winter Range

Winters from southern Texas southward through Caribbean, Central America, and South America.

Habitat

Breeds in taiga, nesting in trees in deserted songbird nests. In migration and winter found along freshwater ponds, stream edges, temporary pools, flooded ditches and fields, more commonly in wooded regions, less frequently on mudflats and open marshes.

Reproduction

Clutch Size

Usually 4 eggs. Range: 3-5.

Condition at Hatching

Downy and active, able to leave nest as soon as down dries.

Conservation Status

Common. No significant population trends.

Other Names

Chevalier solitaire (French)
Chorlito solitario (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Moskoff, W. 1995. Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria). In The Birds of North America, No. 156 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists? Union, Washington.