ML612547211

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

This was a relatively small sandpiper despite being quite a bit larger than nearby Least Sandpipers and maybe 30-50% larger than nearby Dunlin. I never saw the the Sharp-tailed in direct comparison with Pectoral Sandpipers, but I thought it was almost identical in size and shape, and even with its patterns and coloration quite similar to two Pectorals seen in the same pond shortly later. The bill was slim, of medium length and tapering subtly from a base of medium depth to a pointed tip along a culmen that appeared to be straight. I further thought the bill was somewhat longer than the head was wide, or approximately 125% the width of the head. The forehead was relatively steep, the crown was gently rounded, and the junctions of the crown with both the forehead and nape were both more strongly rounded, all on a head that seemed small for the bird's size, yet in all respects similar to those of the Pectoral Sandpipers. The neck was generally retracted and appearing to stout (at least basally) and relatively short. The body was plump and full-chested, yet tapering distally. The posture was closer to horizontal than diagonal, and the back had a hunched appearance. The wings were relatively long, with the wingtips reaching right about to the tip of the tail, if not very slightly beyond. Also apparent was that the primary projection was about three-quarters the length of the exposed tertials, yet I saw the tips of only three primaries projecting beyond the longest tertial. I thought the tail was tapered distally, but I did not see it at all well. The legs were of unremarkable length and mass for a shorebird of this size. My views of the feet were not very good, given that this bird was seen foraging almost exclusively in water that covered most of the legs and the entire feet apart from brief glimpsed that suggested the toes were relatively long. This bird's plumage patterns and coloration were also similar to those of the Pectoral Sandpipers, though it was just a bit more brightly colored. The forehead was narrowly dark from the base of the upper mandible to its junction with the crown. The crown, from its junction with the forehead back to the nape was rufous with narrow, but sharply demarcated, streaks that were sooty to blackish. Demarcating the rufescent cap was a dull-whitish supercilium that extended from the base of the upper mandible back through the supraloral region, over the eye, and back along to upper edge of the auriculars to their rear terminus, around which it curved downward and flared before fading out. The lores were narrowly dark, the auriculars were sooty-brown, and the dark brown of the auriculars extended forward under the eye through the moustachial region. Complementing the supercilium was a narrow, but well-defined eyering, that was rounded and the same whitish color as the supercilium. I thought the lower edge of the dark mask extended backward from a point near the gape along the lower edge of the moustachial and auricular regions to create a relatively narrow band that was rounded along its rear terminus and somewhat uneven internally. Below the dark mask, the throat was whitish and unmarked, and I thought the lower part of the face was as well, but I am less sure about the latter. Below the white throat (though with the white extending a short way onto the uppermost part of the foreneck, the rest of the foreneck, along with the breast and sides, appeared to range from rich-buff to a relatively bright cinnamon color, depending on the light. I further noted a narrow band of fine, dusky streaks extending across the upper part of the foreneck, but the lower part of the neck, the breast, and the sides were unstreaked. The buff of the breast and sides blended to white at the junction of the lower breast and the upper belly, below which the belly was white and unmarked down to about the vent. Rather than cutting straight across the lower edge of the breast and sides, the buff extended a short way down along the foreflanks. As such, the demarcation between buff and white on the underparts formed an inverted "U" to a degree. I noted no streaking along either the white flanks or the buff foreflanks, but I could see a wash of buff and some dark streaking across the vent region, beyond which the undertail coverts again appeared to be whitish and unmarked. I thought the undertail coverts were quite long, reaching nearly to the tip of a tail, the underside of which I never really saw. The dark cap tapered rearward, with the rear termini of the supercilia nearly pinching off a dark stripe that extended from the nape down the back of the upper part of the neck, but in general, the back and sides of the neck were warm brown with fine, dark streaking down to the junction of the neck and back. The mantle feathers had blackish centers that contrasted with narrow fringes that appeared to be a rich cinnamon to rufescent to create a scaly pattern. The scapulars were both larger and more brightly colored, with the centers black, and the fringes mostly bright rufous; however, the larger, lower scapulars had the outer edge distally white, and this contrasting with rufous on the inner edge to form a series of white dashes, but not really braces. The upperwing coverts visible in the closed wing contrasted mostly blackish centers with fringes of bright cinnamon to produce a scaly pattern that appeared similar on almost all feathers, but on some the tips appeared more whitish and contrasting somewhat with the edges, and on the innermost two greater coverts the fringes were the same rufous as the scapulars and this even more colorful than the other coverts. The three tertials each contrasted a black centers with a bright rufous fringe that extended the length of the outer web to the tip to produce a striking pattern of striping. The rufous edges of these feathers were sharply defined and relatively broad, but maybe also tapering slightly toward the base. I thought there were four rufous-edged feathers in the rear part of the wing, suggesting that one of the inner secondaries had a rufous edge, but the rufous-edged feather contrasted with a feather with a narrow fringe of white along the outer edge. I assume this feather was a secondary, but I could not be sure. The exposed primary tips were dull black and lacking light fringes, which made it difficult to distinguish the primaries in the wingtip. I did not see the upperside of the tail overly well, but what I did see appeared to be dark, but also with what appeared to be a rufous fringe to the outer edge of one or possibly two feathers. At one point I also thought I could see a rufous-edged feather on either the rump or uppertail coverts, but I did not see this at all well. I also saw no additional detail on the wings or tail pattern when the bird was in flight, but I suspect my photos may show this. The bill was mostly blackish, but with the lower mandible paler basally. My photos show the the color to have been light gray, and I thought I may have seen this color in the field, but it was difficult to be sure. I noted that the eyes were quite dark, but I was unable to discern brown tones in the field. The legs and what little I could see of the toes appeared to be a relatively dull yellow color, apparently with olive or greenish tones. My views of the bird in flight were not very good, but I was able to see that it was quite a bit larger than the Least Sandpipers and slightly larger than the Dunlin. I further noted that the bill was relatively short, the head small, the neck short and stocky, and the body plump. Also apparent was that the wings were relatively slim, and tapering to pointed tips, and the tail appeared to be moderately long for a shorebird and apparently tapering distally, possibly to a point. The tail length was hard to see, but it may have been almost as long as the body without the head and neck.

Technical information

Model

ILCE-7RM5

Lens

FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS

ISO

320

Focal length

463 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/8.0

Shutter speed

1/1600 sec

Dimensions

2720 pixels x 1657 pixels

Original file size

5.16 MB