General Description: Spotted Sandpipers (Actitis macularius) are small, short-legged shorebirds that winter in the Las Vegas area. In winter plumage, note the white crescent on the shoulder and the white eyeline. Behavior is a good field mark: spotties bob up and down while standing and walking, and they fly with stiff, shallow wing beats just above the water. In summer, spotties get spots on their otherwise white breast.

Taxonomy: Charadriiformes, Scolopacidae, Scolopacinae.

Favored Habitat: Edges of ponds, marshes, streams, lakes.

Where to Find: Around Las Vegas, look for Spotted Sandpipers around water, including urban ponds, the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve, the Pahranagat Valley, and the Overton Wildlife Management Area.

Comments: Around Las Vegas, Spotties breed on the edges of high-elevation lakes in Yosemite National Park and other places in the Sierra Nevada Mountain range.