Shorebird Identification 9 >50% of All Species Have Declined Over the Past 30 Years MAV = 500,000 • 40 Species Common to NA • 31 Migrate Through the Tennessee River Valley *Your Requirement = 17 Plovers Family Charadriidae ¾ Required: 3 Species Piping Plover Small, plump-bodied Short, thick bills Forage visually Often heard before seen (e.g., Killdeer) Killdeer Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) Dark, Thick Bill Mainly Coastal but frequent lakeshores and White Wing Stripe agricultural fields (visible in flight) WINTER Black Legs White Rump BREEDING 1 Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) Length = 5.75 in Short, Orange Bill About ½ the size Upperparts = Brown/Gray of Killdeer WINTER 1 Breast Band BREEDING Orange Legs Underparts = White Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) Reddish Eye Rings Length = 8 inches 2 Breast Bands White Wing Stripe (visible in flight) Rust-colored Rump Very Common in U.S. Stilts & Avocets Family Recurvirostridae ¾ Required: 2 Species • Sleek, Graceful Waders • Long, Slender Bills • “Spindly” Legs Black-necked Stilt Normally forage out in shallow water (not on mudflats) American Avocet 2 Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) Length = 13 in Long and Very Thin Black Bill 9 Black Cap With White Spot LONG Above Eye PINK IN FLIGHT LEGS Legs Extend Well Past Tail American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana) Length = 15 in Very Thin, “Upturned” Bill White Back Bordered by 2 Longitudinal Black Stripes BREEDING 9 White Rump & Tail WINTER Long, Blue/Gray Legs Family Scolopacidae Sandpipers and Phalaropes ¾ Required: 15 Species • Inhabit Mudflats and 9 Very Diverse Group Sandy Shorelines • Many Adapted for High- Speed Flight Semipalmated Sandpipers Greater Yellowlegs 3 Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) Length = 11 in Long, Thin Bill Curved Black and White Slightly Upward “Flecking” on Back Bill Length = 1.5X’s Length of Head 1 1.5 Bright Yellow Legs Lesser Yellowlegs Length = 8.75 in (Tringa flavipes) • Bill Not Upturned Bill Length • Similar Flecking = Length of Head 1 1 Roughly Half the Size of Greater Yellowlegs Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) Length = 7 in Usually Solitary and Often Bobs Tail BOLD White Eye Ring 9 Short, Olive-Colored Legs 9 White Underside 4 Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) 9 Distinctive, “Fluttery” Flight Length = 6.25 in 9 Bobs tail during feeding BREEDING Orangish Tone to Bill Spots on Chest Yellow/Orange Legs WINTER Little, If Any Flecking on Back Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) Length = 5 in • Overall Grayish in Color • Thin, White Wing Stripe • Thin, Dark Bill Dark (Black) Legs (Very Small Shorebird) Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) Very Common in east TN Overall, Brownish in Color with White Underparts Length = 4.75 in • Thin, White Wing Stripe Yellow Legs 9 Very Small Shorebird Very Thin, Dark Bill (Smallest in NA) (Slightly Decurved) 5 Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) Length = 7.5 in Very Similar to Least in Appearance but Significantly Larger (~Killdeer-size) • Orange Bill Distinct Division Between Brown Breast and White Belly Yellow Legs Dunlin (Calidris alpina) Length = 7 in 9 White Wing Stripe BREEDING Thin, Dark Bill with Droop at Tip Black Legs Medium-Sized WINTER Shorebird Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus) Length = 10 in 9 Long Straight Bill WINTER 9 Dull Yellow Legs BREEDING Tail Barred Black and White Barred Upper Chest Call: Single Sharp “Keek” AND Red Belly 6 Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) Length = 9.5 in Call: Quick Mellow “tu-tu-tu” 9 Long Straight Bill BREEDING 9 Dull Yellow Legs Barred Upper Chest BARS SPOTS -OR- Red Belly (Not Both) 9 Similar Winter Plumage Wilson’s Snipe (Gallinago delicata) Length = 9 in • Brownish Appearance • Pointed Wings and a Rapid Zigzag Flight • Very Long, Straight Bill “Stocky” Appearance With Short, Olive-Colored Legs Found in “marshy” habitat American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) Length = 8.25 in • Very Long, Straight Bill More of a Grayish Overall Appearance • Stocky and Short-legged Black Nape Crossed by Pale Lines Found in Woodlands/Shrubby Fields 7 Other Resources: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Bird Identification Center http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/infocenter.html Shorebird Photo Quiz http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/4413/sb_quiz.html #1 #2 8 #3 #4 #5 9 #7 #6 #8 #9 10 #10 #11 #12 11 #13 #14 #15 12 #16 #17 #18 13 #19 #20 #21 14 #22 #23 #24 15 #25 16.