Introduction — Stilt Sandpiper — Birds of North America Online

NOVCloseDEC

16 captures 15 15 Dec 09 - 17 Jan 15 2008Help2009 From the CORNELL LAB OF ORNITHOLOGY and the AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION.

Search

Home Species Subscribe News & Info FAQ

Already a subscriber? Sign in Don't have a subscription? Subscribe Now Stilt Sandpiper Calidris himantopus Issue No. 341 Order CHARADRIIFORMES – Family SCOLOPACIDAE Authors: Klima, Joanna, and Joseph R. Jehl, Jr.

Articles Multimedia References

Articles

Introduction Courtesy Preview Distinguishing Characteristics This Introductory article that you are viewing is a courtesy preview of the full life history account of this species. The remaining articles (Distribution, Habitat, Distribution Behavior, etc.), as well as the Multimedia Galleries and Reference sections of this Systematics account are subscriber-only content, and you will need a subscription in order to Migration view the species account in its entirety. Click on the Subscribe tab for more information. Habitat If you are already a current subscriber, you will need to sign in with your login Food Habits information to access BNA normally. Sounds Behavior Breeding Introduction The Stilt Sandpiper breeds exclusively in low-arctic Demography and Populations and subarctic areas of North America and winters mainly in the interior of central South America. Conservation and This medium-sized wader was once considered Management the unique extant representative of the genus Appearance Micropalama, which was characterized by having Measurements exceptionally long legs, partly webbed toes, and a long bill with an expanded tip (Baird et al. 1884). Priorities for Future Research However, none of these characters is unique; all are found in other members of the large genus Acknowledgments Calidris, where this species is currently classified About the Author(s) (Jehl 1973, Am. Ornithol. Union 1983).

The Stilt Sandpiper’s breeding behavior is that of a typical monogamous calidridine sandpiper. Ecologically, however, it differs from most Adult Stilt Sandpiper, breeding congeners in that it avoids tidal mudflats in favor of plumage; Manitoba; June pools or lagoons, where it forages in belly-deep water.

https://web.archive.org/web/20091215091452/http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/341/articles/introduction[6/17/2015 1:00:21 PM] Introduction — Stilt Sandpiper — Birds of North America Online

Although described as distinctive early in the nineteenth century (“it cannot even at first sight be mistaken for any other Tringa ”; Bonaparte 1826: 57), the Stilt Sandpiper remained largely unknown to ornithologists or even to gunners, who called it the Bastard Yellowlegs because of its suspected intermediacy, or perhaps hybrid origin, between dowitchers (Limnodromus spp.) and yellowlegs (Tringa spp.). Other 19th-century gunning names included Stilted Sandpiper, Mongrel, Long-legged Sandpiper, and Frost Snipe.

Figure 1. Distribution of the Stilt Despite having a broad, though probably Sandpiper interrupted, breeding distribution, which extends westward and northward from James Bay (55°N) nearly to Barrow, AK (71°N), the Stilt Sandpiper is not a common species. Accordingly, its breeding biology has been studied in detail at only a few localities: Churchill, Manitoba (Farley 1936, Sutton 1961, Jehl 1970, 1973); Victoria Island, Northwest Territories (Parmelee et al. 1967); and Prudhoe Bay, AK (JK). Except for studies by Alexander and Gratto-Trevor (1997) in Saskatechewan and by S. Skagen (unpubl.) in the Great Plains, information on its biology during migration and in winter is sparse. Juvenile Stilt Sandpiper; Jamaica Bay, NY; August In spring, this sandpiper’s main migration route brings it northward through northern-central South America, across the Great Plains and western Prairie Provinces, to arctic Canada and Alaska. The fall migration has several pulses, beginning in early July with adult females, followed later by adult males, and finally by juveniles. The main southward route also passes through midcontinent, west of the Mississippi River. The Quill Lakes in Saskatchewan (Alexander and Gratto-Trevor 1997) and Cheyenne Bottoms in Kansas (International Shorebird Surveys [ISS]) are major concentration points both in spring and in fall. From here, in fall the species migrates over water to the Caribbean (Cuba, Puerto Rico: Wunderle et al. 1989, Collazo et al. 1995) or northern South America (Suriname: Spaans 1978), where many birds interrupt their migration to molt flight-feathers before continuing to winter haunts in inland central South America. Small numbers migrate in fall along the mid-Atlantic Coast from Long Island, NY, to Virginia.

Recommended Citation Klima, Joanna and Joseph R. Jehl, Jr. 1998. Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/341 doi:10.2173/bna.341

Home | Contact Us | Terms of Service © 2009 by Cornell Lab of Ornithology

https://web.archive.org/web/20091215091452/http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/341/articles/introduction[6/17/2015 1:00:21 PM] Introduction — Stilt Sandpiper — Birds of North America Online

https://web.archive.org/web/20091215091452/http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/341/articles/introduction[6/17/2015 1:00:21 PM]