Curlew Sandpiper

The curlew sandpiper is a small wader, 18–23cm long with a wingspan of 38–46cm and a weight of 44–117g, with a black bill and dark grey to black legs. In every plumage it shows a large white rump patch and, in flight, a white stripe across the wing. Non-breeding birds are grey-brown above and white below, while in breeding plumage the whole front turns a deep rusty red, more intensely in males. Adults can be confused with the red knot or the dunlin (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is a long-distance migrant that breeds in the bogs and coastal lowlands of the Siberian Arctic from June to August or September, then winters in Africa and along the coasts of southern Eurasia and Oceania on tidal mudflats and saltpans. First-year birds do not migrate north but stay in the wintering range. Courtship is elaborate, including a male building a false nest to show the female. In India it is a winter migrant. SoIB 2023 estimates a long-term decline of about 81% and a current fall of about 4% a year, and rates it a High conservation priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).