Sanderling Calidris alba

Identification Tips:

• Length: 6.5 inches
• Small shorebird
• Medium-length, thin, dark bill
• Dark legs
• Wide, white wing stripe
• Black line on rump extends onto tail
• Sexes similar

Adult alternate:

• Reddish head, back and breast with black spots
• Gray wings
• White belly

Adult basic:

• Pale gray head and upperparts
• Faint, partial gray breast band
• White underparts
• Indistinct white supercilium and dark eyeline

Juvenile:

• Checkered upperparts
• Black patch in front of folded wing
• Faint, partial gray breast band
• White underparts
• Face pattern bolder than adult basic

Similar species:

In alternate plumage, Red Knot and rare Curlew Sandpiper also have a reddish face and breast but are obviously larger and have more extensive red breasts. In basic plumage, the Sanderling is very similar to smaller "peeps" but has a more obvious wing stripe.

Length and wingspan from: Robbins, C.S., Bruun, B., Zim, H.S., (1966). Birds of North America. New York: Western Publishing Company, Inc.