Long-legged wader with medium-long neck and long, decurved bill. Alternate Adult: white plumage overall with black wingtips; bare red face. Red bill and legs. Bluish eye. First-year: paler red bill, face and legs. Mottled brown and white on wings and upper back, white back and rump, finely streaked brown and white head and neck, white below. Juvenile: Solidly dark brown on back and wings, white rump, dark-tipped tail, head and neck similar to first-year; pale orange bill and facial skin. Bluish eye. White shoulders and belly. Pale orange legs. In flight, shows white under-wing with black tips and trailing edge; brown upper-wing. Unlikely to be confused with other species.

Length: 64 (cm) Wingspan: 97 (cm)

Voice:

Low-pitched, nasal grunts.

Habitat:

Wetlands, mudflats, edges of lakes, mangrove swamps, flooded fields.

Behavior:

Forages by holding head down and probing.

Feeding:

Diet consists of crayfish, crabs, crustaceans, insects, frogs, worms, snakes, fish, snails.