AN UNSPOTTED TEETER-TAIL

"Teeter-Tail" is a name some people call the Spotted Sandpiper, ACTITIS MACULARIA, because as it walks it endlessly bobs its rear end up and down in a spectacularly exaggerated manner. And despite Spotted Sandpipers being conspicuously spotted during the summer, the one I encountered on the beach the other day didn't have a spot on it, as shown above.

Because the tail-bobbing makes this species so easy to recognize, and because it's such a common species in almost all environments with water nearby, including lazy streambanks and cattle ponds in the US, this is one of the best-known of American shorebirds.

I see Spotted Sandpipers much more inland than on sandy beaches. The one in the picture, in fact, behaved differently from other shorebirds I saw at the water's edge that day. Instead of running farther up the beach or flying away, this bird ran into a pile of driftwood and hid in the shadows as I approached quite near.