types of sandpiper birds
Baird's Sandpiper: This medium-sized bird has scaled gray-brown upperparts, white underparts and a dark-spotted gray-brown breast. The crown, face and neck are buff with fine brown streaks. It has a white rump with a dark central stripe and black legs and feet. Feeds on insects and spiders.
Among the high Arctic breeders are 19 species of Calidris and the unique Spoon-billed Sandpiper (above left; photo by Ed Greaves). It is among the world's rarest sandpipers; Birdlife International (2000) estimated the world population could be as few as 2500 birds and declining.
Common Sandpiper: Eurasian counterpart to the Spotted Sandpiper; has dusky gray upperparts, heavily streaked breast, and sparkling white underparts. Best distinguished by its habit of standing in a semi-crouch and bobbing back and forth. Flies low over water with stiff shallow wing beats and glides.
Field MarksHelp. Similar Species. Least Sandpipers are the smallest of the small, hard-to-identify sandpipers known as âpeeps.â Semipalmated Sandpipers and Western Sandpipers are slightly larger with stouter bills and black legs instead of the Least Sandpiperâs yellowish legs.
Photos we are missing. The Wood Sandpiper has an an enormous range reaching up to about 10 million square kilometers. This bird can be found throughout all of North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and vagrant population in much of Central America and the Caribbean.
In California, for example, the discovery of a Terek Sandpiper (below left)  a first State record that was successfully 'chased' by hundreds of observers during its nearly four-week stay  made the fall of 1988 very memorable.