Stilt Sandpiper

Calidris himantopus

HOW TO IDENTIFY:

* Length: 7.25 inches
* Medium-sized shorebird
* Long bill decurved at tip
* Greenish legs
* White rump
* Sexes similar

Adult alternate:

* Reddish-brown crown and cheeks
* White supercilium
* Black bases to back feathers with thin pale edges
* Neck and breast heavily spotted with black
* Underparts heavily barred with black

Adult basic:

* Gray head with white supercilium
* Gray breast with indistinct streaking
* Gray upperparts
* White belly and undertail coverts

Juvenile:

* Similar to adult basic
* Mantle feathers with black bases and contrasting buff and rust edges
* Head and breast with brownish wash

Similar species:

In alternate plumage, the heavy barring on the underparts is diagnostic. Juvenile and basic plumages are similar to other species. Dowitchers have longer, straighter bills while yellowlegs have brighter, yellow legs and straight bills. Dunlins and Curlew Sandipipers also have decurved bills but have dark legs and thinner bills. Dunlin has a dark rump.