Spotted Sandpiper
Actitis macularius
Also called teeter-peep.
Identified by movement rather than plumage: it teeters its rear end continuously, without stopping, from the moment it lands. Nothing else on a shoreline does that.
- Size
- Sparrow-sized — 18–20 cm
- Bill
- Long and probing
- Where
- water, coast, marsh
- Season
- summer, migration
What it looks like
Brown above, white below with bold dark spots in summer and plain white in winter. An orange bill with a dark tip in breeding plumage, and a white wedge in front of the folded wing.
The checks that confirm it
- Constant teetering of the rear body, all the time.
- Flies low over water on stiff, shallow, fluttering wingbeats.
- A white wedge cutting up in front of the folded wing.
- Round black spots below in summer; plain white in winter.
Voice
A clear 'peet-weet' given in flight.
Confused with
Solitary sandpiper
Darker, with a bold white eye-ring, and it does not teeter continuously.
Larger, with two black chest bands and an orange rump.
Questions about this bird
How do you identify a spotted sandpiper?
Constant teetering of the rear body, all the time. Flies low over water on stiff, shallow, fluttering wingbeats.
What does a spotted sandpiper sound like?
A clear 'peet-weet' given in flight.