Subject: | |
From: | |
Reply To: | |
Date: | Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:50:40 -0600 |
Content-Type: | text/plain |
Parts/Attachments: |
|
|
You asked:
> I did have an exciting moment observing one Pectoral Sandpiper. It was
> noticably larger than the other Pecs, but smaller than the nearby
> yellowlegs. It had a very bright orange bill, more distinct supercilium
> and lighter overall facial area, and compared to the other Pecs, a cleaner
> throat and upper chest, but still "dirty". If it wasn't for the bird being
> smaller than the yellowlegs, I would have called it a Ruff in winter
> plumage! I recall we had this same situation in our county last year, but
> I don't remember what some of the theories were whether it was a juvenile
> Pectoral or what. Any ideas?
Since I have seen no answers to your question from a couple of days ago I
presume that nobody bothered to answer. I have noticed over many years that
Pectoral Sandpipers seem to have more size variation than just about any
other shorebird. Off the top of my head I cannot think of another one with
such a large variation. Richard Crossley in the The Shorebird Guide said
males average 25-35% bigger. Enough difference that a larger Baird's or
White-rumped Sandpiper is probably closer in size to a smaller female
Pectoral Sandpiper than that female is to a larger male Pectoral Sandpiper.
Dennis Paulson in Shorebirds of North America, The Photographic Guide says
basicly the same thing. Both authors use dimensions that are similar to
each other.
Thus if both the larger and smaller sandpipers were Pectorals then you were
observing sexual size differences. A male Ruff can have a orange bill but a
male Ruff is closer in size to a Greater Yellowlegs. The female Ruff always
has a dark bill and the size generally is closer to a Lesser Yellowlegs.
Thus a bird nearly the size of the Lesser Yellowlegs cannot have been a Ruff
because of the yellow bill and size being in conflict. Could the larger
bird have been a male Pectoral Sandpiper in a loose flock of Bairds
Sandpipers. In a lot of ways Bairds can resemble Pectorals. Also Bairds
are common on sod farms. A Pectoral Sandpiper will have a more distinct
supercillium than a Bairds Sandpiper and will appear less muddy on the chest
due to sharper and darker more distinct markings.
Just thoughts for you to consider.
Denny
Dennis and Barbara Martin
Shorewood, MN
[log in to unmask]
----
Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net
Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
|
|
|