Common Sandpiper

The common sandpiper is a small Palearctic wader, 18 to 20 cm long with a wingspan of 32 to 35 cm. 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 conspicuous wing barring, and juveniles are more heavily barred above with buff edges to the wing feathers (Wikipedia, general species account).

Its American sister species is the spotted sandpiper; the two replace each other geographically, and strays can hybridise. In non-breeding plumage the spotted sandpiper is very similar but has paler legs.