Posted by Phil Pickering (208.46.229.20) on May 10, 2001 at 17:00:04:
I know Leasts can have gray-green (or muddy) legs, but taking foreshortening into account this bird seems proportionately more like a Western to me. The bill also seems awfully thick-based and blunt for a Least, although that can be hard to judge in photos. I think juvenile Least also typically show more extensive bright rufous edging to the coverts and tertials. The coverts are somewhat worn on this bird, but I would expect to see at least more traces of rufous on a typical Least, and the tertials seem relatively fresh to me. I'm admittedly weak on shorebirds, but my guess is that this is more of a Western vs. Semipalmated problem.
I may be seeing things, but to me there seem to be quite a few scapulars missing on this bird. If that's the case it wouldn't be likely to be a Semi because they typically don't molt till they reach their wintering grounds. On the other hand, juvenile Westerns typically begin molting into 1st-basic in August (while migrating).
The retained rufous-edged scaps on the shoulder contrasting with the plainer edged coverts, and the relatively pale auriculars also remind me of a Western.
I'm far from confident because I haven't looked closely at shorebirds for so long, but I'd have to guess molting juvenile Western.
Cheers,
Phil Pickering
Lincoln City, Oregon