Bartramia

While its relatives are busy poking through mudflats and coastal sands, this quirky bird prefers the wide-open spaces of dry grasslands and prairies. It is a tall, elegant bird with a distinctively small, “pin-head” look on a long, slender neck and remarkably large, dark eyes that give it a perpetually surprised expression. Unlike other sandpipers, it has a short, straight bill and long yellow legs, making it look more like a miniature ostrich than a typical waterbird.

What truly sets the upland sandpiper apart from other members of its family is its posture and personality. It is famous for its “gentlemanly” habit of landing on a fence post or a telephone pole and slowly folding its wings high over its back in a graceful, synchronized motion. It acts more like a sentry of the plains than a typical skittish shorebird. They are also famous for their incredible voice—a haunting, long, rising whistle that sounds like a “wolf-whistle” from a distance. This ethereal sound is one of the most iconic noises of the American prairie, often heard long before the bird is ever seen.

One of the coolest facts about these birds is their extreme loyalty to their homes. They are long-distance commuters, traveling all the way from the pampas of Argentina to the grasslands of North America every year. Despite flying thousands of miles across continents, they have an uncanny ability to return to the exact same field or patch of prairie year after year to nest. They are also “insect vacuum cleaners,” following behind grazing cattle or horses to snatch up grasshoppers, crickets, and weevils that are stirred up by the larger animals’ hooves. They are a farmer’s best friend, serving as a natural pest control.