This Eurasian species is a rare vagrant to North America. The bill is fairly short and tapered, similar to that of Least Sandpiper. The legs are black. The wing tips extend beyond the tail. In all plumages, the throat is white and unmarked. Alternate Adult: Upperparts have black feather centers with broad white and rufous edges. Rufous also present on the crown and auriculars. Often shows white lines (braces) running along the back and the scapulars. May have an indistinct white supercilium. The underparts are white, with a band of spots across the upper breast (heaviest on the sides of the breast) within a rufous wash. The markings do not extend onto the white throat or down the sides. Basic Adult: Plain gray-brown above, with dark feather centers creating a spotted effect. An indistinct whitish supercilium lies over dark lores. Juvenile: One of the most brightly colored stints. Upperparts have blackish feather centers with bright rufous edges, including tertials. The crown is dark with a double (split) white supercilium. White braces along the back are usually obvious. The underparts are white except for a few dark streaks along the sides of the breast. Unlike the expected dark-legged small Calidrids of North America (Western and Semipalmated sandpipers), this species has no palmation (webbing) between the toes.

Length: 15 (cm) Wingspan: 28 (cm)

Habitat:

Nests on tundra. In migration, uses mudflats, beaches, lake shores.

Behavior:

Typically found on mudflats near the water's edge.

Feeding:

Picks at the surface of the mud for invertebrates.