8.5 inches long. The Stilt Sandpiper is a medium-sized shorebird with a long bill that is curved down at the tip. The legs are yellow-green and the rump is white. There is a white eyebrow. The crown and cheeks are reddish brown. The neck and breast are heavily spotted with black. The underparts are heavily barred with black. In non-breeding plumage the head and upperparts are gray. The breast is gray with indistinct streaking. The belly and undertail are white.
The Stilt Sandpiper is an uncommon migrant through the area. It can be seen from mid April through mid May and again in fall from mid July through mid September.
The Stilt Sandpiper typically forages belly-deep in water using rapid sewing machine like probes. It often submerges its entire head. In flight the legs extend well beyond the tail. It isnot a common species. Spring migration is mainly northward through the Great Plains to far arctic Canada and Alaska and then in fall south through the midcontinent. Cheyenne Bottoms in Kansas is a major concentration point both in spring and in fall.
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