Upland Sandpiper

Upland Sandpiper, breeding adult; central Montana, June

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A shorebird of grasslands, not shores, the Upland Sandpiper inhabits native prairie and other open grassy areas in North America. Once abundant in the Great Plains, it has undergone steady population declines since the mid-19th century, because of hunting and loss of habitat.

Description

• Medium-sized sandpiper.
• Small head.
• Long neck.
• Straight bill.
• Long legs.
• Large eyes.

• Size: 28-32 cm (11-13 in)
• Wingspan: 47 cm (19 in)
• Weight: 97-226 g (3.42-7.98 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike.

Sound

Song a long series of mellow notes, starting with a gurgling rising trill and ending with a long descending whistle; final whistle sounds to some like a "wolf-whistle." Flight call is a bubbling "quip-ip-ip-ip-ip-ip-ip-ip."

Conservation Status

Once very abundant and widespread within its range, the Upland Sandpiper is now uncommon, and continues to show alarming population declines. The species was once prized as a delicacy, both for its flesh and its eggs; hunting continued until well after the passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty in 1918. Hunting in the West Indies remains a conservation concern. Conversion of native grasslands to croplands in both North and South America has also caused populations to fall.

Other Names

Maubèche des champs (French)
Batitú, Zarapito ganga (Spanish)
Bartramian Sandpiper, Upland Plover (English)

Cool Facts

• The Upland Sandpiper begins southward migration unusually early, beginning in mid-July. It spends up to eight months of the year in its winter home in South America, during the austral summer.
• In several northeastern states, the majority of nesting Upland Sandpipers live on the grounds of airports.

• Upland Sandpiper pairs scrape out multiple depressions in the ground, but use only one for their actual nest.

Sources used to construct this page:

Houston, C. S., and D. E. Bowen, Jr. 2001. Upland Sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda). In The Birds of North America, No. 580 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.