Common Sandpiper

The common sandpiper is a small wader, 18–20cm long with a wingspan of 32–35cm. Adults have greyish-brown upperparts, white underparts, short dark-yellowish legs and a bill with a pale base and dark tip. In winter the plumage is duller with more visible wing barring, and juveniles are more heavily barred above with buff edges to the wing feathers. Its American sister species, the spotted sandpiper, is very similar in winter but has paler legs; the two replace each other geographically (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is usually seen alone, sometimes in small groups, and seldom joins mixed flocks. It has a distinctive stiff-winged flight, low over the water. It forages by sight on the ground or in shallow water for insects, crustaceans and other small invertebrates. It breeds on the ground near fresh water across temperate Europe and Asia, and threatened chicks may cling to a parent to be carried to safety (Wikipedia, general species account).