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Comparing sandpipers, snipes and allies

Waders are tricky: many are small, brown and quickly gone. A few things usually separate them: the length and shape of the bill, leg colour, a white wing bar or rump in flight, and how the bird looks in summer and winter. Tap what you see below; the list then shows only the species that fit everything.

• Within one row you can pick several values (green or yellow legs); across rows everything must match.
• Everything refers to adult birds of the 30 native species in this guide; vagrants and juveniles are on the species pages.
• Bill length is an estimate relative to the head. If in doubt, pick two values.

Species	Length	Legs	Bill	Bill shape	Wing bar	Rump	Breeding	Winter	What to look for
Large species
Eurasian CurlewNumenius arquata	50–60 cm	Black/grey	Very long	Downcurved	None	White	Brown, streaked	As summer	The largest European wader: a huge decurved bill, streaked pale brown, a white wedge up the back; a typical bubbling call.
WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus	40–46 cm	Black/grey	Very long	Downcurved	None	White	Brown, streaked	As summer	A curlew with a striped head (two dark crown stripes and a pale central stripe) and a shorter, more sharply decurved bill; a rapid, rippling call.
Black-Tailed GodwitLimosa limosa	37–42 cm	Black/grey	Very long	Straight	White bar	White	Rufous	Pale grey	Very long straight bill with a pink base, long black legs trailing well beyond the tail, a bold white wing bar and a black tail band on a white rump; orange-chestnut neck and breast in summer.
Bar-Tailed GodwitLimosa lapponica	37–41 cm	Black/grey	Very long	Slightly upturned	None	White	Rufous	Pale grey	Slightly shorter legs than Black-tailed Godwit and a slightly upturned bill; no striking wing bar and a white wedge up the back; brick-red in summer.
Slender-Billed CurlewNumenius tenuirostris	36–41 cm	Black/grey	Very long	Downcurved	None	White	Brown, streaked	As summer	Extremely rare, probably extinct: smaller than Whimbrel, with a thin, decurved bill, heart-shaped spots on the flanks and a white rump.
Eurasian WoodcockScolopax rusticola	33–38 cm	Pink	Long	Straight	None	Dark	Brown, streaked	As summer	A plump brown woodland bird with cross-bars on the head and a long straight bill; large eyes set high on the head; dusk display flights.
Medium species
Common GreenshankTringa nebularia	30–35 cm	Green/yellow-green	Long	Slightly upturned	None	White	Brown, streaked	Pale grey	A large, pale shank with green legs, a sturdy, slightly upturned bill and a white wedge up the back; a loud three-note call.
RuffCalidris pugnax	29–32 cm	Orange	Short	Downcurved	Faint bar	White sides	Variable	Grey-brown	Slender with a small head, long neck and a short, slightly drooping bill; legs orange to yellow-green. Summer males with a ruff and ear-tufts in every imaginable colour; white oval patches on either side of the tail base.
Spotted RedshankTringa erythropus	29–32 cm	Red	Long	Straight	None	White	Black	Pale grey	Black with white speckles in summer, pale grey with a long supercilium in winter; a long thin bill with a slight hook at the tip and red-orange legs.
Great SnipeGallinago media	26–30 cm	Green/yellow-green	Long	Straight	Faint bar	Dark	Brown, streaked	As summer	A heavier, stockier snipe with pale wing bars from white-tipped coverts and a heavily barred belly; flushes heavily and flies straight.
Common RedshankTringa totanus	27–29 cm	Red	Medium	Straight	White rear edge	White	Brown, streaked	Grey-brown	Red legs, a red bill base, a broad white trailing edge to the wing and a white rump; alert and noisy.
Pin-Tailed SnipeGallinago stenura	25–27 cm	Green/yellow-green	Long	Straight	None	Dark	Brown, streaked	As summer	Very like Common Snipe, but darker, without a white trailing edge on the wing and with short, stiff ‘pin’ feathers in the tail; hardly separable in the field.
Common SnipeGallinago gallinago	25–27 cm	Green/yellow-green	Long	Straight	White rear edge	Dark	Brown, streaked	As summer	Long straight bill, striped head pattern with a pale crown stripe and a narrow white trailing edge to the wing; flushes in a zigzag with a rasping call.
Red KnotCalidris canutus	23–26 cm	Black/grey	Short	Straight	Faint bar	Dark	Rufous	Pale grey	Stocky and medium-sized, with a short straight bill; rufous underparts in summer, grey in winter; a faint pale wing bar and a pale-grey rump.
Marsh SandpiperTringa stagnatilis	22–26 cm	Green/yellow-green	Long	Straight	None	White	Brown, streaked	Pale grey	Elegant, with a long, needle-fine straight bill and very long greenish legs; very pale grey in winter; a white wedge up the back.
Terek SandpiperXenus cinereus	22–25 cm	Orange	Medium	Slightly upturned	White rear edge	Dark	Brown, streaked	Grey-brown	Short orange legs and a long, clearly upturned bill with an orange base; a white trailing edge to the wing; runs about busily.
Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpres	21–24 cm	Orange	Short	Straight	White bar	White	Harlequin	Grey-brown	Stocky, with short orange legs and a short, pointed bill used to flip stones and weed; in summer a black, white and chestnut harlequin pattern.
Green SandpiperTringa ochropus	21–24 cm	Green/yellow-green	Medium	Straight	None	White	Brown, streaked	Grey-brown	Dark back with white speckles, white underparts and a white rump set against a blackish underwing; dark-green legs.
Purple SandpiperCalidris maritima	20–22 cm	Orange	Medium	Straight	Faint bar	Dark	Brown, streaked	Grey-brown	Dark and stocky, of rocky shores; orange-yellow legs and a bill with an orange base; no striking wing bar or white rump.
Red PhalaropePhalaropus fulicarius	20–22 cm	Black/grey	Short	Straight	White bar	White sides	Rufous	Pale grey	A smaller swimmer with a thin black bill; grey with a red neck band in summer, pale grey with a black eye mask in winter; spins in circles on the water.
Wood SandpiperTringa glareola	19–23 cm	Green/yellow-green	Medium	Straight	None	White	Brown, streaked	Grey-brown	Slender, dark-speckled brown with a long pale supercilium, yellow-green legs and a white rump; often by fresh pools.
SanderlingCalidris alba	20–21 cm	Black/grey	Short	Straight	White bar	White sides	Rufous	Pale grey	A pale, busy sandpiper of the tideline without a hind toe; a broad white wing bar, and almost white in winter with a dark shoulder patch.
Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos	19–21 cm	Green/yellow-green	Short	Straight	White bar	Dark	Brown, streaked	Grey-brown	Brown above and white below with a white ‘hook’ in front of the wing; bobs its rear end constantly and flies low over water with stiff, flickering wingbeats.
Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferruginea	19–21 cm	Black/grey	Long	Downcurved	White bar	White	Rufous	Pale grey	A longer, clearly decurved bill than Dunlin and a white rump; brick-red in summer, pale grey with a white supercilium in winter.
Small species
DunlinCalidris alpina	17–21 cm	Black/grey	Medium	Downcurved	White bar	White sides	Black	Pale grey	The standard small sandpiper: a medium-length bill drooping at the tip and black legs; a black belly patch in summer, grey and white in winter.
Red-Necked PhalaropePhalaropus lobatus	18–19 cm	Yellow	Short	Straight	White bar	White sides	Rufous	Pale grey	A small swimming wader with lobed toes; brick-red in summer with a white face and a thick, yellow-based bill; pale grey with a black eye mask in winter.
Jack SnipeLymnocryptes minimus	17–19 cm	Green/yellow-green	Medium	Straight	None	Dark	Brown, streaked	As summer	The smallest snipe, with a shorter bill and a split supercilium but no pale crown stripe; sits tight until the last moment.
Broad-Billed SandpiperCalidris falcinellus	16–18 cm	Black/grey	Medium	Downcurved	White bar	White sides	Brown, streaked	Grey-brown	A small sandpiper with a short, broad bill that kinks downwards near the tip; split supercilium (two stripes above the eye) and short dark legs.
Temminck's StintCalidris temminckii	13.5–15 cm	Green/yellow-green	Short	Straight	Faint bar	White sides	Brown, streaked	Grey-brown	Small, elongated and plain grey-brown; green to yellow-green legs, white outer tail feathers and a very faint wing bar.
Little StintCalidris minuta	12–14 cm	Black/grey	Short	Straight	Faint bar	White sides	Brown, streaked	Grey-brown	The smallest of the regular small sandpipers, with a short, fine black bill and black legs; rusty cheeks and a white V on the back in summer, grey-brown in winter.

The features come from the species accounts in this guide, supplemented from standard field guides. Lengths are those on the species pages; the groups are a convenience, not a fixed classification.