Dominica Botanic Gardens Roseau, Commonwealth of Dominica, West Indies

Source: Dominica’s Birds

Description: A common, migrant, shore-bird, smallest shorebird in the world; readily identified by its small size, 12.5-16.5 cm long (5-6.5 in) and yellowish legs; adults are brownish grey on head and chest; darker brownish grey on back and wing coverts; white underneath; have moderately long, thin, black bill with slightly drooping tip; moderately long, yellowish legs and short neck; both sexes look alike; summer breeding in northern Canada, migrating south in small flocks of dozens or hundreds, wintering from southern US to northern South America and the Caribbean; in Dominica, found on the sea shore, along river banks and in wet grassy areas; in the Gardens, will sometimes be seen on the cricket field; feeds on small aquatic life, primarily crustaceans, insects and snails; click here to listen to its calls. References: Arlington James, et al. Dominica’s Birds. Forestry, Wildlife and Parks Division, Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment, Dominica, 2005 James Bond. Birds of the West Indies. Collins, St James Place, London, 4th Edition, 1979 Herbert Raffaele, et al. Birds of the West Indies. Princeton Field Guides, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2003 G.A. Gough, et al. Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, US Geological Surveys, Laurel, MD. 1998. (mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov) Cornell Lab of Ornithology. All About Birds: Least Sandpiper. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (www.birds.cornell.edu, Feb. 2008).