Semipalmated Sandpiper Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesSemipalmated Sandpiper
Breeding adult
Small shorebird with a short neck and small head. Breeding birds can have some rusty mottling on the back or have more of a gray-brown color.
© Tyler Ficker / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, June 07, 2018Nonbreeding adult
Small shorebird with a short neck and small head. The bill is dark and may droop slightly at the tip. Nonbreeding birds have faint streaking on the breast, clean flanks, and dark legs.
© Jonathan Eckerson / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, July 16, 2017Juveniles
Forms large flocks during migration and winter. Note relatively short, straight bill and dark legs.
© Benjamin Clock / Macaulay LibraryMaine, July 18, 2012Not all videos have sound
Juvenile
Juveniles have a scaly looking back without any rusty coloring. Note darker cap and eyebrow stripe.
© Alix d'Entremont / Macaulay LibraryNova Scotia, August 23, 2014Juvenile
Juveniles have a scaly looking back caused by white edges to the feathers, and they lack rusty coloring. Note darker cap and eyebrow stripe.
© Daniel Jauvin / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, August 17, 2016Nonbreeding adult
In flight, note dark stripe down the center of the tail bordered by whitish outer tail feathers.
© Frantz Delcroix (Duzont) / Macaulay LibraryGuadeloupe, August 30, 2015Habitat
Winters and migrates along mudflats, sandy beaches, shores of lakes and ponds, and wet meadows.
© Kevin Lantz / Macaulay LibraryNova Scotia, May 13, 2016Flock
Found in large foraging or roosting flocks of up to several thousand individuals during migration and on the wintering grounds.
© Liz Voellinger / Macaulay LibraryNova Scotia, August 06, 2016Similar SpeciesWestern Sandpiper
Breeding adult
Western Sandpipers have a bigger head and a heavier-bodied look than Semipalmated Sandpipers. In breeding plumage, Westerns often have brighter rusty upperparts, a whiter face, and chevron markings on the flanks that Semipalms lack.
© Thomas Barbin / Macaulay LibraryBritish Columbia, May 09, 2017Similar SpeciesWestern Sandpiper
Nonbreeding adult
Western Sandpipers have a bigger head, a heavier-bodied look, and a longer more drooping bill than Semipalmated Sandpipers. Nonbreeding birds tend to be grayer than Semipalmated Sandpipers, which are more brown.
© Patrick Maurice / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, November 06, 2016Similar SpeciesLeast Sandpiper
Breeding adult
Least Sandpipers are smaller than Semipalmated Sandpipers with yellow (not black) legs.
© Evan Lipton / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, May 19, 2016Similar SpeciesLeast Sandpiper
Nonbreeding adult
Least Sandpipers are smaller than Semipalmated Sandpipers with yellow (not black) legs.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryGeorgia, September 28, 2016Similar SpeciesSanderling
Breeding adult
Sanderlings are larger than Semipalmated Sandpipers. Breeding Sanderlings have more rusty-colored upperparts than Semipalmated Sandpipers.
© Jonathan Lugo / Macaulay LibraryVirginia, May 26, 2016Similar SpeciesSanderling
Nonbreeding adult
Sanderlings are larger than Semipalmated Sandpipers. Nonbreeding Sanderlings are a more frosty gray, with a clean breast, while nonbreeding Semipalmated Sandpipers are brownish with a smudgy and lightly streaked breast.
© Ryan Schain / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, November 16, 2014Similar SpeciesBaird's Sandpiper
Juvenile
Baird's Sandpipers are larger than Semipalmated Sandpipers. They have longer wings that extend farther beyond the tail than they do on Semipalmated Sandpipers.
© Dorian Anderson / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, August 17, 2013Similar SpeciesWhite-rumped Sandpiper
Molting adult
White-rumped Sandpipers are larger than Semipalmated Sandpipers with a more smudgy and streaked breast. Note more obvious eyebrow on White-rumped Sandpipers than on Semipalmated Sandpipers.
© Dorian Anderson / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, September 11, 2011Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Sandpipers and Allies(Order: Charadriiformes, Family: Scolopacidae)
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