The solitary sandpiper is a medium-sized shorebird 7.5-9.1 in (19-23 cm) in length with a wingspan of 21.6-22.4 inches (55-57 cm).
It has a pointed bill, long greenish legs, a medium-sized neck, an olive-green back, and wings marked with white spots. It has a barred tail, a gray-streaked head, and white circles around its eyes.
Males and females look alike, but females are a little larger.
The solitary sandpiper forages in shallow water and skims food up from the surface of the water. It eats insects, larvae, small fish, tadpoles, frogs, spiders, and worms.
It often shakes its foot to stir prey up to the surface of the water. Occasionally, it probes in the water for food, and it also forages for food on land.
The male solitary sandpiper selects the nesting site. He chooses an abandoned nest of songbirds like American robins, rusty blackbirds, eastern kingbirds, Canada jays, or cedar waxwings.
The nest is usually in a conifer (evergreen) tree, sometimes as high as 40 feet (12.2 m) above the ground. The female may rearrange the nest after the male selects it. She lays 3-5 eggs.
Both parents incubate the eggs for 23-24 days. The chicks are precocial and leap out of the nest and feed themselves shortly after hatching.
The solitary sandpiper has a lifespan of 8-10 years.
The solitary sandpiper and the green sandpiper of Eurasia are the only sandpiper species that nest in trees.
The solitary sandpiper is truly solitary – it migrates alone, not in flocks.
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The solitary sandpiper does not breed in New Hampshire, but it can be spotted in the state during its migration.
The solitary sandpiper breeds across Alaska and Canada.
It migrates along the Atlantic Coast and the interior of the United States.
It winters from southern Texas south to the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.
