ILLINOIS AUDUBON BULLE 
(e 
SIGHT RECORD OF THE SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER 
IN ILLINOIS 
by H. DAVID BOHLEN and RICHARD SANDBURG 
On 28 September 1974, while looking at shorebirds at Chautauqua National 
Wildlife Refuge, we saw an immature Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris 
acuminata). The bird was first viewed at 100 yards through 10x50 binoculars 
and thought to be a Buff-breasted Sandpiper; however, at closer range and 
through a 20-power telescope, the bird was seen to have a dark cap. The 
bird was examined from 1230 to 1540 hours C.D.T., a little over three hours, 
and the following description was taken in the field: 
The bird was a medium-sized sandpiper with the size and propor- 
tions of a Pectoral Sandpiper (maybe somewhat slimmer). It had 
a dark rusty cap, a dark (rusty?) patch on the upper auriculars, 
and a light (whitish) well-defined line over the eye. The chin and 
upper throat area ‘were whitish and the lower throat and breast 
buffy with no streaks or sharp delineation between breast and belly. 
The buff extended down to about the leg area, but was brightest 
on the breast and faded out to whitish just anterior to the legs; the 
remainder of the ventral surface was whitish. The side of the neck, 
nape and the area just anterior to the wing had fine streaking. 
The back was somewhat snipe-like, with dark browns and blacks 
laced with rich buff or gold. There was a white “V” in the mid-back 
with the connection of the “V” posterior (this was also present in 
several nearby Pectoral Sandpipers). The buffy lacing converged 
near the tip of the closed wing, giving the appearance of a buffy 
spot. The tail was Pectoral-like (dark with white outer tail feath- 
ers); the bill was blackish with a very slight down curve, more or 
less straight, and typical Pectoral length; the eye appeared dark; 
the legs were definitely yellow, being more obviously so than near- 
by Pectoral Sandpipers, but less yellow than nearby Lesser Yellow- 
legs. The legs “seemed” a bit longer than Pectoral legs, giving the 
Sharp-tailed a more dainty look. 
The bird was observed in flight and gave a call which was similar to 
a Pectoral Sandpiper call except it was more mellow — not so grating. It 
fed by picking and probing and at least twice was seen to give a small 
burst of running and fluttering as if it were catching flying insects. 
The Sharp-tailed Sandpiper was located on a mudflat which had many 
projecting stumps. The bird perched on the stumps on several occasions. 
Associated with this shorebird were Pectoral, Least, and Baird’s sandpipers, 
Lesser Yellowlegs, American Golden Plovers, Killdeer, and Long-billed 
Dowitchers. This species was easily discerned from the others because of 
its distinctive golden appearance. The sky was mostly overcast, but occa- — 
sionally the sun was shining, giving us excellent light. We approached — 
the bird within 30 yards and used a 30 power telescope for longer distances. — 
Eighteen observers saw the bird which stayed until the afternoon of — 
29 September. Several photographs were attempted, 
Later BIRDS OF EUROPE (Bertel Bruun; 1971) was consulted, but the 
bird pictured does not closely resemble the bird we saw and we can only | 
conclude that the picture must represent an adult bird. However, in 
AUDUBON WESTERN BIRD GUIDE (Richard Pough, 1957) Plate 12, the 
immature is exactly like the bird we observed except for the darker legs 
(our bird had definite yellow legs). 
