Dunlin
Breeding adult
Stocky, medium-sized shorebird with a long, drooping bill. Breeding adults have a distinctive black belly and a rusty mottled back. Note black legs.
© Andrew Spencer | Macaulay LibraryAlaska, May 21, 2013Nonbreeding adult
Chunky shorebird with a short neck and a long drooping bill. Nonbreeding birds have a grayish brown hood and a brownish back.
© Alix d'Entremont | Macaulay LibraryNova Scotia, October 12, 2014Nonbreeding adult
During the nonbreeding season, forages in mudflats and shallow water. Probes, picks, and jabs at aquatic invertebrates often with the bill open.
© Jay McGowan | Macaulay LibraryNew York, October 11, 2014Not all videos have soundBreeding adult
Medium-sized, short-necked sandpiper with a long drooping bill. Breeding birds have a black belly patch.
© Evan Lipton | Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, June 12, 2014Juvenile
Stocky, short-necked shorebird. Juveniles have mottled backs and brownish faces. Black belly feathers grow in as they age.
© Ryan Schain | Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, September 23, 2012Breeding adult
Breeding adults have a rusty mottled back. In flight, note dark stripe down the center of the tail and white outer tail feathers.
© Nick Pulcinella | Macaulay LibraryNew Jersey, May 10, 2017Nonbreeding adult
In flight, note darker line of feathers down the center of the tail and white outer tail feathers.
© Justyn Stahl | Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, September 14, 2016Habitat
Winters along mudflats, estuaries, marshes, flooded fields, sandy beaches, and shores of lakes and ponds.
© Bud Poole | Macaulay LibraryTexas, February 15, 2015