UPLAND SANDPIPER
UPLAND SANDPIPER – (Bartramia longicauda) – (See images below)
DESCRIPTION: The Upland Sandpiper back, wings and tail are brown speckled with beige. Tail rather long. Head, long neck and breast are beige with fine brown streaks. Under parts white. Bill is yellow with a dark tip, legs and feet also yellow. Eyes large relative to head size, and black. Sexes are similar. Length about 30 cm (1 foot).
VOICE: https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Bartramia-longicauda
NAME: English name ‘Sandpiper’ stems from ‘sand’, and Latin ‘pipa’, to ‘chirp’. Latin genus name ‘Bratramia’, to honor the memory of American naturalist William Bartram. Species Latin name ‘longicauda’ means ‘long tail’.
HABITAT: Prefers open country such as fields and grasslands (as name implies) rather than the shores.
DIET: Insects and arthropods, also seeds.
NESTING: Nest placed on the ground in a well-sheltered area. About four beige eggs are laid, incubated by both parents. Chicks can feed themselves from hatching but cared for by parents.
DISTRIBUTION: Breeding range covers the central Plains in Canada and the USA, extending to Alaska on the west side and to northeast USA. Winters in South America (Brazil, Argentina). Vagrants (see note below) have been found as far as Australia and New Zealand.
Distribution map: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upland_sandpiper#/media/File:Bartramia_longicauda_map.svg
ON PEI: Breeds on Prince Edward Island, but rare or occasional.
CONSERVATION: Population widespread and appears stable, currently not at risk.
Vagrancy: In biology this means an animal going way outside its normal range. For birds, this can happen when there are storms and they get blown off course. On other times, the bird simply wanders in a different direction than usual. Here’s an article about vagrancy in birds.
SIMILAR SPECIES: Ruff, Stilt Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper
REFERENCES: https://www.borealbirds.org/bird/upland-sandpiper
http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/uplandsandpiper.htm (New Hampshire PBS)
http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/upland-sandpiper (New Zealand Birds Online)
https://guides.nynhp.org/upland-sandpiper/ (New York Natural Heritage Program)
http://fieldguide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=ABNNF06010 (Montana Field Guide)
https://gpnc.org/birds/upland-sandpiper-portrait/ (Great Plains Nature Center)
Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas (Upland Sandpiper)
https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Aroostook/wildlife_and_habitat/sandpipers.html (Fish and Wildlife Service, Maine)
https://identify.whatbird.com/obj/422/overview/Upland_Sandpiper.aspx
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Upland_Sandpiper/id
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upland_sandpiper
DESCRIPTION: The Upland Sandpiper back, wings and tail are brown speckled with beige. Tail rather long. Head, long neck and breast are beige with fine brown streaks. Under parts white. Bill is yellow with a dark tip, legs and feet also yellow. Eyes large relative to head size, and black. Sexes are similar. Length about 30 cm (1 foot).
VOICE: https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Bartramia-longicauda
NAME: English name ‘Sandpiper’ stems from ‘sand’, and Latin ‘pipa’, to ‘chirp’. Latin genus name ‘Bratramia’, to honor the memory of American naturalist William Bartram. Species Latin name ‘longicauda’ means ‘long tail’.
HABITAT: Prefers open country such as fields and grasslands (as name implies) rather than the shores.
DIET: Insects and arthropods, also seeds.
NESTING: Nest placed on the ground in a well-sheltered area. About four beige eggs are laid, incubated by both parents. Chicks can feed themselves from hatching but cared for by parents.
DISTRIBUTION: Breeding range covers the central Plains in Canada and the USA, extending to Alaska on the west side and to northeast USA. Winters in South America (Brazil, Argentina). Vagrants (see note below) have been found as far as Australia and New Zealand.
Distribution map: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upland_sandpiper#/media/File:Bartramia_longicauda_map.svg
ON PEI: Breeds on Prince Edward Island, but rare or occasional.
CONSERVATION: Population widespread and appears stable, currently not at risk.
Vagrancy: In biology this means an animal going way outside its normal range. For birds, this can happen when there are storms and they get blown off course. On other times, the bird simply wanders in a different direction than usual. Here’s an article about vagrancy in birds.
SIMILAR SPECIES: Ruff, Stilt Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper
REFERENCES: https://www.borealbirds.org/bird/upland-sandpiper
http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/uplandsandpiper.htm (New Hampshire PBS)
http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/upland-sandpiper (New Zealand Birds Online)
https://guides.nynhp.org/upland-sandpiper/ (New York Natural Heritage Program)
http://fieldguide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=ABNNF06010 (Montana Field Guide)
https://gpnc.org/birds/upland-sandpiper-portrait/ (Great Plains Nature Center)
Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas (Upland Sandpiper)
https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Aroostook/wildlife_and_habitat/sandpipers.html (Fish and Wildlife Service, Maine)
https://identify.whatbird.com/obj/422/overview/Upland_Sandpiper.aspx
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Upland_Sandpiper/id
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upland_sandpiper
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| Upland sandpiper, ON, by Jonath |