Wandering Tattler Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  A distinctive, compact shorebird with a rather angular head, a strong, straight bill, sturdy long legs with long toes, and long wings and tail.

  Relative Size

  Heavier-bodied and slightly larger than a Lesser Yellowlegs, smaller than a Willet.

  between robin and crow

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 10.2-11.8 in (26-30 cm)
    • Weight: 2.1-6.0 oz (60-169 g)
    • Wingspan: 19.7-21.6 in (50-55 cm)

  © Brian Sullivan / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  Breeding plumage is dark gray above, white with very heavy dark gray barring below. Nonbreeding adults and juveniles are dark gray above, pale below, with grayish breast and flanks. All plumages have a pale line over the eye. In flight, Wandering Tattlers do not show wingstripes, and the rump is dark. The bill is dark; legs and feet are yellow.

• Behavior

  Walks along rocky shores (or streams on breeding grounds), quickly jabbing with the bill to capture invertebrates, all the while steadily bobbing its tail as it walks. Also forages by probing with its bill in sand or mud, flipping over leaves and other detritus, and even capturing passing insects by leaping.
• Habitat

  Breeds in mountainous tundra with abundant waterways, wetlands, and rocky features, sometimes in lowlands. Forages along streams and rivers, sometimes mudflats, during breeding season. Migrates through and winters in a great variety of habitats, from the rocky coastlines of North America, to coral reefs, lagoons, rivers, mountain wetlands, and human-made environments such as airports and golf courses on islands in the Pacific Ocean.