Least Sandpiper Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  Least Sandpipers are tiny sandpipers with round bodies and relatively short, pointed wings. They have thin-tipped, slightly decurved bills and slim, medium-length legs.

  Relative Size

  Tiny (our smallest shorebird); Slightly larger than a sparrow, slightly smaller than a Semipalmated Sandpiper.

  between sparrow and robin

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 5.1-5.9 in (13-15 cm)
    • Weight: 0.7-1.1 oz (19-30 g)
    • Wingspan: 10.6-11.0 in (27-28 cm)

  © Ian Davies / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  They have brown upperparts and white underparts. Their bills are black, and their legs are yellowish-green (this can be obscured by mud at times). Juveniles have crisp plumage that is rustier than that of adults. In flight, Least Sandpipers show whitish rumps bisected by a longitudinal black line.

• Behavior

  Least Sandpipers feed on invertebrates in the mud and sand along the edges of water. They often gather in loose flocks and frequently join other species, but they tend to be in smaller groups and feed toward drier edges than other small sandpipers.
• Habitat

  Least Sandpipers feed on mudflats and the edges of water bodies. They tend to favor muddier shores and estuaries than other sandpipers, and are not common on ocean beaches. They breed in wet tundra and interrupted boreal forest across much of northern North America.