Killdeer vs Spotted Sandpiper
The check that settles it
No chest bands, teeters constantly, and it walks rather than running in bursts.
Killdeer
Charadrius vociferus
- Size
- 20–28 cm
- Bill
- thin pointed
- Where
- open field, water, coast
- Voice
- A loud, insistent 'kill-deer, kill-deer' which names it, often given all night.
Spotted Sandpiper
Actitis macularius
- Size
- 18–20 cm
- Bill
- long probing
- Where
- water, coast, marsh
- Voice
- A clear 'peet-weet' given in flight.
Confirming a killdeer
- Two black bands across the white chest. No other plover has two.
- Bright orange rump and long tail, obvious in flight.
- Runs, stops, bobs, runs again.
- Feigns a broken wing, dragging it along the ground to lead you away from the nest.
Confirming a spotted sandpiper
- 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.