Dunlin

The Dunlin, Calidris alpina is a small wader. It is a circumpolar breeder in Arctic or subarctic regions, and a long-distance migrant, wintering south to the Caribbean, Africa and southeast Asia. It is highly gregarious in winter, sometimes forming large flocks on coastal mudflats or sandy beaches.

This bird is one of the commonest and best-known waders throughout its breeding and wintering ranges, and it is the species with which other waders tend to be compared. It is similar in size to a Starling, but stouter, with a thick bill.

It shows a strong white wingbar in flight, and it moves along coastal mudflat beaches it prefers with a characteristic "sewing machine" feeding action, methodically picking small food items.

The depicted bird is a spring adult in breeding plumage, with the distinctive black belly which no other similar-sized wader possesses. The winter Dunlin is basically grey above and white below. Juveniles are brown above with two whitish "V" shapes on the back. There are usually black marks on the flanks or belly.

The legs and slightly decurved bill are black. There are a number of subspecies differing mainly in the extent of rufous coloration in the breeding plumage and the bill length. It should, however, be noted that bill length varies between sexes, the females having longer bills than the males.

The call is a typical sandpiper "peep", and the display song a harsh trill.