- 7.1–7.9 in
- 1.6–2.8 oz
- Bécasseau roussâtre (French)
- Correlimos canelo, Chorlito canela (Spanish)
- The Buff-breasted Sandpiper is unique among North American shorebirds in having a lek mating system. Males defend relatively small territories that provide no resources for females and are simply display sites to which females can be attracted. Females select a mate and then leave to nest and raise their chicks elsewhere.
Breeds in dry, grassy tundra. On migration and in winter found in dry grasslands (usually short grass), pastures, plowed fields and, rarely, mudflats.
- Clutch Size
- 2–5 eggs
- Condition at Hatching
- Active and covered with down.
Population declined from millions to near extinction by 1920s. Numbers appeared to increase, but may be declining again. This species is on the 2014 State of the Birds Watch List, which lists species most in danger of extinction without significant conservation action.
- Lanctot, R. B. and C. D. Laredo. 1994. Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis). In The Birds of North America, No. 91 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists' Union.