Dunlin Identification

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.

Nonbreeding adult

Chunky shorebird with a short neck and a long drooping bill. Nonbreeding birds have a grayish brown hood and a brownish back.

Nonbreeding adult

During the nonbreeding season, forages in mudflats and shallow water. Probes, picks, and jabs at aquatic invertebrates often with the bill open.

Breeding adult

Breeds in wet coastal tundra.

Breeding adult

Medium-sized, short-necked sandpiper with a long drooping bill. Breeding birds have a black belly patch.

Juvenile

Juvenile

Stocky, short-necked shorebird. Juveniles have mottled backs and brownish faces. Black belly feathers grow in as they age.

Nonbreeding adult

In flight, note darker line of feathers down the center of the tail and white outer tail feathers.

Breeding adult

Breeding adults have a rusty mottled back. In flight, note dark stripe down the center of the tail and white outer tail feathers.

Habitat

Winters along mudflats, estuaries, marshes, flooded fields, sandy beaches, and shores of lakes and ponds.