This rangy rock-loving species is one of the few shorebirds with heavily barred underparts. It can be readily separated from most other rock-pipers by its longer bill and long folded wings. All ages have mostly black bill with gray at the base of the lower mandible, yellowish to yellow-green legs, and a thin, broken white eye ring. Alternate Adult: Plain gray upperparts, with dark lores and a whitish supercilium most prominent in front of the eye. The underparts are white with extensive dark barring. Basic Adult: Plain gray overall, fading to white on the belly. Dark lores and short white supercilium still apparent. Juvenile: Like Basic Adult, but with pale edges on wing coverts. Flies with deep, powerful, and sometimes irregular wingbeats that suggest the flight style of a yellowlegs.

Length: 26 (cm) Wingspan: 50 (cm)

Voice:

Call is a rapid series of sharp notes: ti-ti-ti-ti-ti, sometimes paired: ti-di, ti-di, ti-di.

Habitat:

Nests on tundra near gravelly streams. On migration and in winter, usually found on rocky coasts.

Behavior:

Often bobs tail while feeding. Usually seen singly or in small groups of other rock-pipers.

Feeding:

Probes rocky areas for marine invertebrates.