[Length 9 in. Wingspan 17 in.]

This Rock Sandpiper was photographed at Attu Island, AK, USA. Photo taken with a Nikkor ED 300mm f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: May 1988)

[Length 9 in. Wingspan 17 in.]

Rock Sandpipers are small, plump shorebirds with a longish, slightly decurved bill. In summer they have a reddish brown cap and back, a dark ear patch, and a black breast patch. In winter they are a dark steel-gray above and on the throat and upper breast. They breed along the coasts of far eastern Siberia, Bering Sea islands, western Alaska, and out along the entire Aleutian Island chain. In winter they withdraw to the inner Aleutians and along the coasts of southern Alaska, western Canada, and the western US as far south as central California. This "Pribilof" Rock Sandpiper (the nominate race) was photographed on St. Paul Island in the Pribilof Islands, Alaska, USA. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: May 1989)

[Length 6.25 in. Wingspan 14 in.]

This Semipalmated Sandpiper was photographed at Quivira NWR, Stafford, Kansas. Photo taken with a AF-S VR Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6 IF-ED lens on a Nikon D7100 camera. (Date: May 12, 2019)

[Length 6.25 in. Wingspan 14 in.]

This Semipalmated Sandpiper was photographed at Quivira NWR, Kansas, USA. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF-S VR f2.8 lens + Nikkor TC20E II 2.0x Teleconverter (EFL=900mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: May 1, 2007)

[Length 6.25 in. Wingspan 14 in.]

This Semipalmated Sandpiper molting into winter plumage was photographed during fall migration at Jamaica Bay NWR in New York, USA. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 64 film. (Date: July 1981)

[Length 6.25 in. Wingspan 14 in.]

This Semipalmated Sandpiper molting into winter plumage was photographed during fall migration at the Cape May Meadows in Cape May, New Jersey, USA. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 64 film. (Date: September 1982)

[Length 6.25 in. Wingspan 14 in.]

These Semipalmated Sandpipers in breeding plumage were photographed near Jamaica Bay NWR in New York, USA. Photo taken with a Celestron 750mm f5.6 mirror lens on Ektachrome 200 film. (Date: June 1976)

[Length 7.5 in. Wingspan xx in.]

This Sharp-tailed Sandpiper was photographed at one of the many fish ponds, Dongtai, Jiangsu, China. Photo taken with a AF-S VR Nikkor 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens + Nikkor TC17E II 1.7x Teleconverter on a Nikon D7100 camera. (Date: May 10, 2017)