Update: more
photos of this bird are here.
This rather unusual Least Sandpiper
was photographed near Fort Worth, Texas in September 2002; note
the bill base, loral region, and ear-covert pattern, all of which
are very Long-toed Stint-like - but see bottom of page for a suggested
separation feature:
Note in the image below the obvious notch in the chestnut fringe
of the innermost great covert (often with a complimentary - but
less pronounced - version on the opposite side); this is present
in c. 90% of juv. LESA, while it is rare in LTST and when present,
is much less-pronounced. I feel that such a strong notch is perhaps
the best initial ID-feature (esp. at long range) for ruling out
LTST; I'd love to know of any pics of juv. LTST that show such
a strong notch:
