Dunlin

The dunlin is a small wader, 16–20cm long with a wingspan of 38–43cm and a weight of 34–77g, with black legs and a black, slightly down-curved bill, longer in females than males. In breeding plumage it has a distinctive black belly patch that no other wader of its size shows. In winter it is greyish-brown above and white below. Juveniles are brown above with two faint pale V marks on the back and some black marks below. All ages show a narrow white wing bar in flight. Its name is a dialect form of dunling, from dun, dull brown (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds around the Arctic and subarctic. Birds breeding in western Europe move only short distances, while those from far northern Europe and Asia are long-distance migrants that winter south to Africa and south-east and west Asia. Ten subspecies are recognised, differing mainly in the amount of rufous, the size of the black belly patch and bill length. In India it is a winter migrant with a moderate range. SoIB 2023 estimates a long-term decline of about 86% and a current fall of about 6% a year, and rates it a High conservation priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).