Immature Description

Juvenile plumage: Head and underparts streaked with gray brown; face and nape paler. Back patterned blackish-brown, with white edgings forming a checkerboard pattern. Wing flight feathers blackish-brown. Tail white with zigzag bars and spots at base and a broken blackish band near the tip. Bill brownish-black with white tip. Eyes dark; eyering yellowish-brown. Legs dark bluish-gray with some pink tones.
First winter (Basic I Plumage): Head, neck, and underparts whiter than juvenile, back grayer brown; otherwise similar. Bill black with some pink at base. Eyes dark. Legs dark bluish-gray with some pink tones.
First summer (Alternate I Plumage): Similar to first winter, but head and underparts more white, and the back is more uniformly dark with less of a checkered pattern. White tip of bill and pale area at base more prominent. Eyes dark. Legs dark bluish-gray with some pink tones.
Second winter (Basic II Plumage): Head and nape white with a little streaking. Underparts mostly white with some thin streaking. Back grayer, some back feathers uniformly gray black with brown tip. Tail whiter at base with broad dark area near the tip. Bill pale pink at base with large black band near the tip, smudging along bill edge. Eyes sometimes pale; eyering yellowish. Legs dark-bluish gray with some pink tones.
Second summer (Alternate II Plumage): Same as second winter, except head and underparts are less streaked, and the dark areas on the wings and tail fade. Bill pale yellow or pink, with subterminal black band and black cutting edge. Eyes pale. Legs dark bluish-gray with some pink tones.
Third winter (Basic III Plumage): Head and body white, with faint streaking on nape. A few streaks under the tail. Back primarily uniformly blackish-gray, with a few black-tipped gray feathers as in second winter. Some brown markings on inner wing. A few white spots near the tip of outer wing feathers. Tail white with variable amount of darker markings. Bill yellow or yellow-pink with some orange or red near tip of lower bill; usually some black. Legs dark bluish-gray with some pink tones.
Third summer (Alternate III Plumage): Same as third winter, except head, neck, rump and underparts pure white or with only a few dark streaks. Freckled areas on inner wings fade to white.