Curlew Sandpiper

20-22 cm. Female, bill longer. Non-breeding: elegant, medium-sized, uniformly grey-brown wader with slim, longish, evenly downcurved black bill, long white eyebrow, white rump and longish black legs. Breeding Plumage: pale patch around bill; head and body deep rosy chestnut; upperparts richly marked buff, chestnut and black; white rump sparsely barred darker. Moulting birds show patchy, scaly, chestnut pattern. Immature: buffer; upperparts neatly 'scaly' from fine whitish feather margins. Small to large flocks, with other waders. Active: wades deep; submerges head; groups chase in flight; flocks wheel. In flight (all plumages): bold white wingbar and rump.