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Least Sandpiper
Photos by Bruce
Dayton
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ORDER:
Charadriiformes
FAMILY:
Scolopacidae (Sandpipers - 47 Species)
SPECIES:
Least Sandpiper
(Calidris minutilla)
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Least Sandpiper |
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The Least Sandpiper can be found in migration all across North America. |
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SIZE |
The Least Sandpiper is world's smallest (5-6") shorebird. |
| DESCRIPTION | Breeding
adults are brown with dark brown streaks on top and white underneath
with a dark crown and yellowish legs. They have a short, dark,
bill that is slightly drooping and a streaked breast with a light line
above the eye.
Sexes are similar in appearance. |
| NESTING | Clutch size ranges from 3-5 eggs, usually 4, which are incubated in 18 to 24 days. The nest is usually built on a tuft of moss or grass on the ground near a body of water. The male begins building the neat and the female finishes it, lining it with grass and moss. |
| RANGE | Breeds from Alaska east across northern Canada to Newfoundland. They migrate to the southern United States and northern South America. |
| HABITAT | They prefer to habitat grassy pool areas, fresh and saltwater mudflats, bogs and marshes with open areas. |
| DIET | It feeds on insects, crustaceans, mollusks, and marine worms. |
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| Least Sandpiper | |
| Montezuma
National Wildlife Refuge Seneca County, New York |
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| LsSp_140T_035640 | LsSp_140T_035641 |
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| LsSp_140T_035644 | |
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Least Sandpiper Drawing by Louis Agassiz Fuertes |
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| INTERESTING FACTS |
| Immature |
| A young bird in the first plumage after molt of its juvenile feathers. In many birds the immature plumage is very similar to that of the adult but in some, the immature passes through a whole series of plumages before reaching adulthood. |
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Please email with any ideas or comments concerning this web page. |
| The images on this web page are copyrighted © 2003 - 2007 by Bruce Dayton. I want to share my photos to promote conservation and to help people identify and learn about the birds and other creatures that live with us on the North American continent. Please do not use any of my work in any non-profit or for-profit project without first getting written permission from me. You can ask for permission by emailing me at webmaster@wildlifeofnorthamerica.info. All reproductions must bear an appropriate credit. |
NOTE: This site will be updated as time and pictures become available.
Visit Mammals of North America
Least Sandpiper
(Calidris minutilla
)
Updated 10-20-2008
