Tips for using Browse:

Browsing is a valuable way to learn about birds, however it is a brute force approach and not designed for identification. A more sophisticated approach to finding a bird with specific field marks is to use the Step by Step Search. You can also try the Wizard to find a bird, which uses a question and answer approach, but again it does not give you the flexibility of the Step by Step Search.
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Red Phalarope
Red Phalarope: Medium-sized sandpiper with dark gray upperparts and rufous neck and underparts. Head has white face, black cap, and a thick, straight, yellow bill with black tip. Female is more brightly colored than the male. Feeds on small fish, insects and aquatic invertebrates. Flight is swift and direct with rapid wing beats.
Wilson's Snipe
Wilson's Snipe: Medium sandpiper, brown and black mottled upperparts, buff stripes on back. White underparts, dark bars on sides, flanks. Heavily streaked head, neck, breast. Yellow-green legs, feet. Formerly considered a subspecies of the Common Snipe, which has 14 tail feathers to the Wilson's 16.
Wilson's Phalarope
Wilson's Phalarope: Medium sandpiper, gray-brown upperparts, red-brown streaks on back, shoulders. White underparts with red-brown markings on upper sides. Gray crown, white face, black eye-line that continues down neck. Black needle-like bill. Gray wings with dark flight feathers. White tail, rump.
Wandering Tattler
Wandering Tattler: Medium sandpiper, solid gray upperparts and heavily black-and-white barred underparts. Face is finely streaked and eye line is dark. Long, black bill. White eye ring. Dull yellow legs and feet. Eats insects, larvae, worms and mollusks. Quick, direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Whimbrel
Whimbrel: Large, long-legged sandpiper, brown and white mottled upperparts and buff underparts with faint streaks on sides and flanks. Crown is white-striped black and neck is long and streaked. Bill is long, black, and decurved. Tail and rump are brown and black barred. Legs and feet are blue-gray.
Black-tailed Godwit
Black-tailed Godwit: Large, tall godwit with black-barred, orange-brown body. Orange-brown head and neck, and white mark between eye and bill; combination of prominent white rump, white wing bar, and pure white underwings is unique among the godwits. Black-tipped yellow bill is long and straight.
American Woodcock
American Woodcock: Medium, stocky sandpiper with buff-brown underparts and dark-streaked gray-brown upperparts. Head shows black bars rather than the stripes of most other sandpipers. Eyes are black and very large; bill is dull yellow with a black tip and is long and stout. Pale gray legs and feet.
Gray-tailed Tattler
Gray-tailed Tattler: Medium sandpiper with gray upperparts and cap, white eyebrow and throat, gray streaked breast, and pale gray underparts. Wings and tail are dark. Legs and feet are yellow. Eats insects and larvae, picks up food in sand and water. Direct flight, quick wing beats.
Common Greenshank
Common Greenshank: Large sandpiper with scaled gray-brown upperparts, white rump, and white underparts, streaked and spotted with brown on flanks and sides. Yellow-green legs. Bill is slightly upturned. Eats small fish, insects and larvae. Swift direct flight with clipped wing beats.
Common Redshank
Common Redshank: Large sandpiper, scaled black and brown upperparts, dark-streaked neck and breast, white eye-ring broken in front, pale belly and sides with dark chevrons. Dark wings with white trailing edges visible in flight. Legs are orange-red. Short bill is red with black tip.
Red Knot
Red Knot: Medium-sized sandpiper with black, brown and gray scaled upperparts, red-brown face, neck, breast and sides, and white lower belly. Wings show white bars in flight. Bill is black and slightly curved. Eats insects, larvae, mollusks and crabs. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Red-necked Phalarope
Red-necked Phalarope: Medium sandpiper with brown-striped dark gray back, mottled gray breast, and white throat and belly. Head, nape, and flanks are gray. Neck and upper breast are rust-brown. Bill is thin and black. Flight is swift and swallowlike with rapid wing beats, quick movements, and turns.
Pectoral Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper with scaled, dark brown upperparts, heavily streaked brown breast, plain white belly and eyering. Crown is dark brown. Faint wing-bar and black rump with white edges are visible in flight. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats. Zigzag pattern when flushed.
Long-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher: Large, stocky sandpiper with dark, mottled upperparts, dark cap and eyestripe, short white eyebrow, and red-brown underparts with lightly barred flanks. Bill is long, dark, and dagger like. Legs and feet are yellow-green. Swift direct flight, rapid wing beats.
Long-toed Stint
Long-toed Stint: Medium sandpiper, scaled, brown, black and rufous upperparts, white-sided rump, white underparts, black-spotted sides, upper breast. Head has brown crown, white eyebrows. Dark decurved bill. Wings have white bars visible in flight. White tail has black central stripe, gray edges.
Spotted Redshank
Spotted Redshank: Large sandpiper, mostly black body in summer except for white rump, white spots on wings, barred tail. Bill is red with black tip. Legs and feet are dark red. Winter bird (shown) has gray upperparts and white underparts. Feeds and forages on land or in shallow water by probing in mud, and sweeping bill back and forth. Swift direct flight when flushed.
Surfbird
Surfbird: Medium sandpiper, dark gray upperparts marked with rufous, white rump, white underparts marked with distinct black chevrons. Upper breast, head, neck are heavily streaked. Wings are dark with bold white stripes visible in flight. Tail is white with a black triangular tip visible in flight.
Ruff
Ruff: Large sandpiper with variably-colored frilly tufts on the neck that ranges from black to rufous to white to speckled and bared. Female lacks ruff. Head is orange-brown and the belly is white. Bill is orange with dark, drooped tip. Orange-yellow legs. Low, direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Red-necked Stint
Red-necked Stint: Small sandpiper with mottled brown upperparts and streaked cap. Underparts are white; upper breast is rust-brown and spotted. Face and throat are unstreaked rust-brown. Bill, legs and feet are black. Forages on shore, sometimes probes mud. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Ruddy Turnstone
Ruddy Turnstone: Medium sandpiper, red-brown upperparts, white rump and underparts. Face and breast are black-marked. Bill is short, dark, and slightly upturned. Wings have a unique brown, black, and white pattern visible in flight. Tail is white with black terminal band. Legs and feet are orange.
Common Ringed Plover
Common Ringed Plover: Plump little plover with dark gray-brown upperparts, pure white underparts, and strong black mask and chest band. Base of dark-tipped bill and legs are bright orange. Frequents mudflats. Eats worms, aquatic insects, crustaceans and mollusks. Direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Eskimo Curlew
Eskimo Curlew: Small curlew, brown mottled upperparts, buff underparts streaked and mottled brown, and pale cinnamon wing linings. Bill is moderately short, not as strongly curved as similar curlews. Crown has two dark stripes. Wings noticeably long on perched bird. Last sighted in Canada in 1982.
Northern Lapwing
Northern Lapwing: Large, unique plover with black breast, face, crown, and long upright head plumes; back is green-tinged purple and copper. Belly and sides are white, uppertail is white with a black tip, and undertail coverts are rich rufous-orange. Wings are dark with white tips; legs are pink.
Black Oystercatcher
Black Oystercatcher: Large stocky brown-black shorebird with long,bright orange bill and glaring yellow eyes with contrasting orange eyering. The legs and feet are pink. Feeds primarily on limpets and other shellfish, also eats mussels and marine worms. Rapid direct flight with shallow wing beats.
Piping Plover
Piping Plover: Small, pale sand-colored plover, showy black bands on head, neck. White upertail with white-edged black tip. Short bill has bright orange base and black tip. Legs are bright orange. Eats fly larvae, beetles, crustaceans and marine worms. Feeds higher on the beach than other plovers.
Little Ringed Plover
Little Ringed Plover: Small, slim plover with brown upperparts and white collar. Bill, lores, forehead, auriculars, and breast band dark, contrasting with white forecrown and white bar behind the dark crown. Conspicuous eye-ring is yellow; legs are dull pink-yellow. Does not show wing bar in flight.
Pin-tailed Snipe
Pin-tailed Snipe: Large, chunky, cryptically colored shorebird. Upperparts complexly mottled tan, brown, and black. Tail rufous. Long gray-green bill, dark brown tip. Legs, feet are gray-green. Feeds on insects, larvae, worms, seeds. Flushes in a zigzag pattern. Direct flight with rapid wing beats.
European Golden-Plover
European Golden-Plover: Largest of the golden plovers, showing black crown, throat, neck and upperparts with small bright gold spotting. White band on forehead runs down sides of neck and along flank; black underparts are trimmed in white. Undertail is white and the legs are short and dark gray.
Far Eastern Curlew
Far Eastern Curlew: Largest curlew, very long, decurved bill, longest of any shorebird. Dark brown with heavily streaked underparts. Blue-gray legs, feet. Eats crustaceans, marine worms, insects, larvae, invertebrates. Strong steady flight, rapid wing beats. Flies in straight line or V formation.
American Oystercatcher
American Oystercatcher: Large shorebird with white underparts, brown upperparts, black hood, long, bright red-orange needle-shaped bill. White wing patches visible in flight. Yellow eyes surrounded by orange eye-rings. Legs and feet are pink. Feeds on mussels and other bivalves. Rapid direct flight.
Eurasian Curlew
Eurasian Curlew: Large curlew, strongly marked underparts lack rich orange or buff tones that other long billed curlews often show. Brown upperparts. Large, decurved bill, black upper mandible, lower mandible has pink base. In flight it shows prominent white lower back, rump, and underwing linings.
Great Knot
Great Knot: Medium sandpiper with brown upperparts showing dark spots on crown and back, and white underparts with black spots on breast and sides. Bill is short and black. Wings show bright patch of orange-brown on coverts. Legs and feet are gray-green. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Common Snipe
Common Snipe: Longest-billed of all snipes, best identified by broad white stripe at base of underwing. Upperparts cryptically colored with brown and yellow-brown streaks of many different shades. Underparts white but strongly suffused with orange wash, heavily barred and streaked with dark brown.
Broad-billed Sandpiper
Broad-billed Sandpiper: Small sandpiper with a long bill that curves down at the tip. Pale-edged dark brown feathers on upperparts give a scaled appearance; back shows two pale streaks in flight; underparts are white with dark spots on breast and neck. Head has dark cap and forked white eyebrows.
Common Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper: Eurasian counterpart to the Spotted Sandpiper; has dusky gray upperparts, heavily streaked breast, and sparkling white underparts. Best distinguished by its habit of standing in a semi-crouch and bobbing back and forth. Flies low over water with stiff shallow wing beats and glides.
Purple Sandpiper
Purple Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper, upperparts are scaled gray-brown, crown is dark, and white underparts are streaked. Bill is dark with a yellow base and slightly decurved. Wings have large white stripes visible in flight; tail has dark central stripe above and is white below.
Wood Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper: Medium, long-legged sandpiper with dark gray-brown upperparts and breast heavily marked with white spots and notches. Underparts are white; legs usually green, but may be yellow and lead to confusion with Lesser Yellowlegs. Underwings pale gray; rump is white with black-barred tail.
Temminck's Stint
Temminck's Stint: Small sandpiper with gray-brown upperparts and faint breast band and white underparts. Dark tail is long with white outer feathers; upperwings are gray-brown and have dark markings. Flight is swift and direct with rapid wing beats. Has a distictive, hovering display flight.
Green Sandpiper
Green Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper with pale-spotted, dark gray-brown back and rump, white underparts with dark streaks on neck, upper breast, sides. Head is dark and eye-ring is white. Tail is white with fine dark spotting at tip. Bill, legs, feet are olive-green. Swift flight with rapid wing beats.
Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Spoon-billed Sandpiper: Small sandpiper, scaled brown and black upperparts, red-brown wash on face, neck, spotted upper breast, white underparts. Most distinguishing characteristic is the extraordinarily flared tip on its black bill. Black legs, feet. Flight is swift and direct on rapid wing beats.
Little Stint
Little Stint: Medium sandpiper, scaled-brown upperparts, white underparts. Face, neck, breast are rust-brown with black spots. The back has white lines that form a V pattern in flight. Black bill, legs, feet. Feeds by pecking at surface and probing mud with bill. Direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Black-necked Stilt
Black-necked Stilt: Large shorebird with sharply contrasting black upperparts and white underparts. Long, thin, upcurved bill. Red eyes with white eye-rings, and white patch above. Legs are extremely long and red-pink. Feeds on insects, fish, worms, small crustaceans and seeds. Swift direct flight.
American Golden-Plover
American Golden-Plover: Medium sandpiper with black face, underparts. Back is dark brown with yellow spots; has a white S-shaped mark along head and sides. Markings provide camouflage to blend in with tundra breeding grounds. Bill is black, thin, and short. Swift direct flight on rapid wing beats.
Long-billed Curlew
Long-billed Curlew: Very large sandpiper with brown mottled upperparts, buff-brown underparts with dark streaks and spots. Bill is very long, decurved. Cinnamon-brown underwings visible in flight. Feeds by probing mud with bill or dunking head under water. Direct flight, steady, strong wing beats.
Marbled Godwit
Marbled Godwit: Large sandpiper with black-marked, dark brown upperparts, lightly barred, chestnut-brown underparts. Long pink bill has black tip, is slightly upcurved. Pale brown underwings visible in flight. Feeds on crustaceans, mollusks, worms, insects, seeds, berries. Swift and direct flight.
Greater Yellowlegs
Greater Yellowlegs: Large sandpiper with mottled brown, gray, and white upperparts. Underparts are white with dark streaks, spots. Bill is slightly upturned. Legs are long and bright yellow. Long barred tail and white rump are conspicuous in flight. Swift direct flight, sometimes at great heights.
Semipalmated Plover
Semipalmated Plover: Small plover, gray-brown upperparts and white underparts. Forehead and faint stripe sometimes seen over eye, while face and collar are black. Bill is orange with black tip. Wings have white stripes visible in flight. Tail is brown with white edges. Orange legs, feet. Strong direct flight.
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Buff-breasted Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper, buff wash over entire body except for white vent. Upperparts are black-spotted and streaked, underparts are slightly scaled. Shows white wing linings in flight. Has white eye-ring and black bill. Legs are yellow. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Mountain Plover
Mountain Plover: Medium-sized plover with pale brown upperparts, white underparts, and brown sides. Head has brown cap, white face, and dark eyestripe. The upperwings are brown with black edges and white bars; underwings are white. Tail is brown-black with white edges. Legs and feet are pale gray.
Eurasian Dotterel
Eurasian Dotterel: Medium-sized shorebird with gray upperparts, rust-brown flanks and belly with black lower margin, and white vent. Narrow white breast band is prominent. Cap is dark and two white eyestripes meet in a V at nape. Feet and legs are yellow. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Lesser Sand-Plover
Lesser Sand-Plover: Medium-sized, chunky plover with gray upperparts, white underparts, and bright rust-brown breast band and nape. The head has gray-brown cap and thick black eyestripe broken by a white forehead. Throat is white with a black border. Bill is black and legs and feet are yellow-green.
American Avocet
American Avocet: Long-legged shorebird with long, thin, upcurved bill and distinctive black-and-white back and sides. Head and neck are bright rust-brown during summer. Legs and feet are gray. Feeds on insects, crustaceans, and invertebrates. Strong direct flight with neck extended.
Sanderling
Sanderling: Medium-sized sandpiper with dark-spotted, rufous upperparts, breast and white underparts. Wings have conspicuous white stripes visible in flight. Bill, legs, and feet are black. Feeds on crustaceans, mollusks, isopods, worms, plants and insects. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Black Turnstone
Black Turnstone: Medium sandpiper, scaled black upperparts, white spot between eye and bill, black breast with white speckles on sides, and white belly. Short, dark bill slightly upturned. Back, wings, and rump display a dramatic black-and-white pattern in flight. Swift flight on rapid wing beats.
Killdeer
Killdeer: Large banded plover, brown upperparts and white underparts, two distinct black bands cross upper breast. White stripes on wings are visible in flight. Tail and rump show rust-brown in flight. Black bill, pink-brown legs and feet. Wavering, erratic flight, capable of swift, direct flight.
Black-bellied Plover
Black-bellied Plover: Medium-sized shorebird with black upperparts vividly marked with a white spot on each feather. Face, throat, and belly are black. White forehead and crown, extends over eye and down back, sides of neck. Black armpit and white rump, vent, and wing stripe are visible in flight.
Dunlin
Dunlin: Medium-sized sandpiper with black-streaked, red-brown upperparts, conspicuous black belly patch, and streaked breast. The black bill is long and slightly decurved. Legs and feet are black. Wades in shallows and uses bill to probe and pick up food. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Short-billed Dowitcher
Short-billed Dowitcher Breeding Adult: Large sandpiper, upperparts mottled gray, black, brown and red-brown, white rump, red-brown underparts with heavy spots, and bars (east and west coast birds have heavier barred and spotted, paler underparts and often show white bellies). Strong direct flight.
Willet
Willet: Large sandpiper with mottled gray-brown upperparts, white rump and lightly streaked and barred white underparts. Broad white stripes on black wings are visible in flight. Tail is white with dark brown tip. Legs are blue-gray. Flight is short and low, alternates rapid wing beats with glides.
Spotted Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper, olive-brown upperparts, white underparts with bold black spots. Eyebrow is white. Wings have white stripes visible in flight. Tail is barred. Dull yellow legs. Low direct flight, wings flap in shallow arcs, producing clipped, stiff wing beats on drooping wings.
Western Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper: Small sandpiper, chestnut-brown, scaled upperparts, white underparts dotted with rows of dark chevrons. Head streaked with brown wash on face. Bill is dark and decurved at tip. Thin white stripes visible on dark wings in flight. Black legs and feet, partial webbing between toes.
Baird's Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper with scaled, gray-brown upperparts, white underparts, and dark-spotted, gray-brown breast. Crown, face, and neck are buff with fine, dark brown streaks. Rump is white with dark central stripe extending through the center of gray-brown tail. Black legs and feet.
Little Curlew
Little Curlew: Medium curlew, brown-streaked upperparts, white throat, dark-streaked gray breast, and white belly. Head has brown crown. Bill is short and slightly down-curved. Legs and feet are blue-gray. Forages in grassy fields. Bouyant direct flight with steady, rapid wing beats.
Bristle-thighed Curlew
Bristle-thighed Curlew: Large, brown-streaked shorebird with long decurved bill. Eye-line is dark, contrasting eyebrow is white. Rump is cinnamon-brown. Bristle-like feathers at base of legs are inconspicuous. Legs and feet are blue-gray. Strong, swift direct flight with legs trailing behind tail.
Rock Sandpiper
Rock Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper, scaled gray-brown and reddish-brown upperparts, dark crown, heavily streaked white underparts with dark breast patch. Dark bill is slightly decurved. Wings have large white stripes visible in flight. Tail has dark central stripe above and is white below. Black legs.
Least Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper: Small sandpiper, brown-scaled upperparts, rust-brown crown. Breast, throat are dark-spotted; belly, undertail are white. Wings have thin, white stripes visible in flight. Black line on rump extends onto tail. Legs and feet are yellow-green. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Jack Snipe
Jack Snipe: Medium, stocky sandpiper, mottled brown upperparts, paler underparts. Eyestripe is dark. Yellow stripes on back are visible in flight. Eats mollusks, insects, larvae, worms and seeds. Weak flight with rapid, shallow wing beats.
Lesser Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs: Large sandpiper with gray and black mottled upperparts, white underparts and streaked upper breast and sides. Bill is straight and uniformly dark gray. White lower rump and dark-barred tail are visible in flight. Legs are long and yellow. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Hudsonian Godwit
Hudsonian Godwit: Large sandpiper with white-scaled, brown-black upperparts, black-barred chestnut-brown underparts. Long bill, slightly upcurved and pink with black tip. White rump, white wing-bar, black underwings visible in flight. Legs and feet are blue-gray. Swift, powerful undulating flight.
Bar-tailed Godwit
Bar-tailed Godwit: Large shorebird, long upcurved bill, scaled brown, black and gray mottled upperparts, pale red-brown underparts. Tail is white with distinctive dark bars. Legs, feet are dark gray. Feeds by wading in water, probing mud with side-to-side motion. Direct flight with steady wingbeats.
Curlew Sandpiper
Curlew Sandpiper: Medium-sized sandpiper with mottled rufous, white, and black upperparts. Head, neck and breast are a rich rufous while vent, undertail coverts and underwings are white. Black bill is long and slightly decurved. The legs and feet are black. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
White-rumped Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper: Small sandpiper, brown and black scaled upperparts, distinct white rump. Neck and upper breast are white with brown streaks. Streaked head has white eyebrows. Thin white stripes on dark wings visible in flight. Tail is rounded and black. Dark legs and feet.
Upland Sandpiper
Upland Sandpiper: Large bird, dark-spotted, brown upperparts, black rump. White chin, neck, throat. Breast and sides streaked with dark chevrons, white belly. Dark cap, white eye-rings. Bill is thin, olive-brown, decurved at tip. Wedge-shaped tail has dark center and barred edges visible in flight.
Wilson's Plover
Wilson's Plover: Medium plover, gray-brown upperparts and cap. Underparts are white except for black upper breast band. Head has white forehead patch edged in black and white eyebrows joining above bill. Wings are dark with white stripes visible in flight. White tail with faint brown central strip and dark tip.
Pacific Golden-Plover
Pacific Golden-Plover: Medium plover, yellow-spotted, dark brown back, black face, and black underparts with white-mottled flanks; a white S-shaped mark extends from above the eye to along sides. Bill is black, thin, and short. Black legs, feet. Swift direct flight with rapid, steady wing beats.
Snowy Plover
Snowy Plover: Small plover, pale brown upperparts, white underparts. Dark patches on either side of upper breast (partial breast band), behind eye, and on white forehead. Bill, legs, and feet are black. Wings have white stripes visible in flight. Dark tail has white edges. Dark gray legs and feet.
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper with dark brown upperparts and white underparts with faint olive-brown streaks on breast and sides. Head has rufous crown and, white eye ring. Wings are dark brown. Tail is dark brown and pointed in flight. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper: Small sandpiper with scaled gray-brown upperparts, white underparts, and fine streaks on the breast and sides. The black bill is short, stout and straight. Feeds on insects, worms, small mollusks and crustaceans. Legs and feet are black. Swift flight on rapidly beating wings.
Solitary Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper, pale-spotted, dark brown back and rump, white underparts with streaks on neck and sides. Head is dark, eye-ring is bold white. Tail is black with conspicuous black-and-white barred edges. Bill, legs, and feet are olive-green. Direct flight is light and bouyant.
Terek Sandpiper
Terek Sandpiper: Medium-sized sandpiper with lightly spotted gray upperparts, white underparts, and gray wash on upper breast. Eyestripes are dark. Bill is long, black with orange at the base and curved upward. Legs are relatively short and bright orange. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Stilt Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper with gray-brown upperparts, white rump, heavily barred white underparts. Head has a dark cap, white eyebrows, and brown ear patches. Bill is long, black, and curved down at tip. Legs are long and gray-green. Powerful, direct flight on long, rapidly beating wings.