Stilt Sandpiper

Calidris himantopus (Bonaparte, 1826)

≈23 cmLength43 cmWingspan57 gWeight

This shorebird has long legs and feet, a long neck, a slightly curved bill and a white supercilium.

Busiest months: August · Most records: United States, Canada, Puerto Rico

Looks like Curlew Sandpiper

Near Threatened

How to identify

Field marks

Legs and feet long and yellow-green
Bill long and only slightly curved
White supercilium and white rump
Underparts covered in barring in breeding plumage

Male, female and young

Juvenile has distinct head markings and a brown back, no barring on the underparts, and white feather edges on the back.

Similar species

Curlew Sandpiper

Stilt Sandpiper has a straighter bill and longer, yellow-green rather than black legs and feet, and lacks the white band on the upperwing in flight.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: August · Most records: United States, Canada, Puerto Rico

Stilt Sandpiper has been recorded at 909 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 65 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Estero Llano Grande SP WBCUnited States9,722 records
Edwin B. Forsythe NWRUnited States3,587 records
Parker River NWRUnited States3,499 records

More places

Hornsby BendUnited States3,454 records
Bombay Hook National Wildlife RefugeUnited States3,332 records
Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Ctr.United States3,158 records
Cape Island – South Cape May MeadowsUnited States3,003 records
Hagerman NWRUnited States2,573 records
Mitchell Lake Audubon CenterUnited States2,511 records
Willcox – Lake Cochise and Twin Lakes Golf CourseUnited States2,379 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United States Canada Puerto Rico Costa Rica Peru Mexico Curaçao Barbados

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The stilt sandpiper (Calidris himantopus) is a small shorebird. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek; the genus name kalidris or skalidris is a term used by Aristotle for a gray-colored waterside bird. The specific himantopus means "strap foot" or "thong foot", and also refers to the stilt.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Stilt Sandpiper?

The Stilt Sandpiper is about ≈23 cm long, with a wingspan of 43 cm and weighs around 57 g.

Where does the Stilt Sandpiper live?

Its breeding range: North America: high and low Arctic tundra to taiga edge of northern Nearctic: North Slope of Alaska and northern Canada to southern Victoria Island (north-central Canada); also locally western coasts of Hudson and James bays. It is most often recorded in United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

When is the best time to see the Stilt Sandpiper?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in August (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Stilt Sandpiper endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Stilt Sandpiper as Near Threatened.

What does the Stilt Sandpiper eat?

Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.

What family is the Stilt Sandpiper in?

It belongs to the family Sandpipers, Snipes (Scolopacidae), order Charadriiformes.

At a glance

Length: ≈23 cm
Wingspan: 43 cm
Weight: 57 g
Habitat: Wetland
Diet: Fish, shrimp & shellfish
Lifestyle: Active on the ground
Migration: Migratory
Conservation: Near Threatened

More measurements

Wing: 127 mm
Tail: 50 mm
Bill: 43 mm
Tarsus: 40 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

North America: high and low Arctic tundra to taiga edge of northern Nearctic: North Slope of Alaska and northern Canada to southern Victoria Island (north-central Canada); also locally western coasts of Hudson and James bays

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2