Appearance

Plumages similar to those of Greater Yellowlegs although molt schedules differ (cf. Elphick and Tibbitts 1998). For the following summary, descriptions of hatchling plumage is based on Baicich and Harrison (1997), all other plumages and molts on Cramp and Simmons (1983) and Higgins and Davies (1996) unless otherwise stated.

Hatchlings

Completely downy. Down grayish white on underparts, head, and neck; pinkish buff on back and wings. All patterning blackish-brown including crown patch, thin lines from base of bill to anterior corner of eyes, prominent postorbital stripes that meet at back of crown, stripe down center of nape. There are 3 bands on back (1 central, 2 lateral): broad center band runs to rump, often divides on lower back and shows pale median streak; slightly narrower lateral lines usually meet at rump. Large patches on flanks may merge with lateral lines. Small patches on wings.

Juvenal Plumage

No data on timing of Prejuvenal molt; molt begins first on sides of breast, scapulars, and wings (Bent 1927).

Juvenal plumage similar to Definitive Basic plumage, but generally, ground color a darker, warmer brown and spots and notches larger and, initially, buffier. Distinct white eye-ring and anterior supercilium; distinct dark-gray loral stripe. Forehead, crown, and nape dark sepia, speckled buff and white; chin white; sides of head and neck light gray fading to pale gray at feather-tips. Mantle dark sepia with prominent, regularly spaced buff (fading to white) notches along edges toward tips; scapulars and tertials dark sepia with larger, more distinct notches separated by blackish markings. Primaries and secondaries like Definitive Basic but narrower and with pointed, rather than rounded, tips. Rump and uppertail-coverts similar to Definitive Basic but white feathers with dark terminal fringes when fresh. Tail like Definitive Basic but bars straighter, narrower, and more numerous than in adults. Underparts mostly white; upper flanks mottled and barred gray, breast gray-brown with faint off-white streaking. Underwings, axillaries, and wing-coverts similar to Definitive Basic, except median and some lesser upperwing-coverts darker with lighter, more distinct lateral spots and dark centers that reach to central tip.

Basic I Plumage

Prebasic I molt incomplete; molt includes body feathers, outer primaries and inner rectrices; secondaries, inner primaries, most greater-coverts, some lesser-coverts, uppertail-coverts, and outer rectrices retained. Most molt occurs after birds arrive on wintering grounds: face and crown replaced by early Sep–late Oct; head, neck, mantle, scapulars, and breast by Nov; inner median-coverts, some tertials, and central rectrices by Jan. Most birds molt outer primaries, starting with P4–P6 in early Nov–early Feb and molting outward to P10 by mid-Jan–mid-Apr.

In fall, distinguished from Definitive Basic birds by bright, white-dotted tertials. Later in winter can be distinguished by difference in shape and wear of old, narrow inner primaries and fresh, rounded outer ones, and by difference in wear between heavily worn innerwing-coverts and tertials and fresh coverts.

Alternate I Plumage

Prealternate I molt partial (extent varies); occurs Mar–Apr. New feathers similar to those of Definitive Alternate. Immatures distinguished from adults by contrast between worn (secondaries and inner primaries) and fresh (outer primaries and tertials) feathers. Also, noticeable age differences in the fifth secondary; this feather has inner vane that is evenly colored and pale-edged in birds up to 1 yr old and speckled in birds that have completed the Definitive Prebasic molt (Burton and McNeil 1976).

Definitive Basic Plumage

Definitive Prebasic molt complete; occurs mid-Jul–late Jan. Begins just after nesting with replacement of some feathers of head, sides of breast, or upperparts; suspended during migration; resumed soon after arrival on nonbreeding areas with most feathers of head, body, and wing-coverts. Molt of primaries and central rectrices begins after arrival in nonbreed-ing areas mid-Jul–early Oct; finishes late Oct–late Jan. Uppertail-coverts, wing-coverts, secondaries, and outer rectrices replaced during later stages of primary molt.

Overall appearance plain; ground color of upperparts brownish gray, few markings on underparts. Forehead, crown, and nape are light gray; chin white; lores and ear-coverts gray. Sides of head and neck and foreneck are whitish with narrow gray streaking. White eye-ring and anterior supercilium. Mantle, scapulars, tertials, and innerwing-coverts brownish gray fading to light gray at feather-tips, marked with faint, alternating white and black dots along edges of longer scapulars, tertials, and innerwing-coverts (sometimes forming bars on tertials and greater-coverts). Primaries and secondaries varying shades of blackish brown, darkest toward outer primaries; shaft of P10 white or pale horn brown, other primaries with dark shafts. Edges of secondaries and inner edges and tips of P4–P6 have narrow white border. Dark remiges contrast with pale innerwing-coverts. Inner webs of secondaries may be slightly marbled white or pale brown. Feathers of rump and uppertail-coverts white with narrow dark barring. Central rectrices evenly barred black and pale gray-brown, remaining rectrices evenly barred white and dark gray (dark bars on R1 restricted to sides of feather). Underparts mostly white; some gray bars on lateral under tail-coverts, breast and flanks with pale gray speckling and with either fine brownish shaft streaks (breast) or irregular brownish barring (flanks). Axillaries white with fine dark-gray bars; underwing-coverts white with fine blackish or dark-gray bars.

Definitive Alternate Plumage

Definitive Prealternate molt partial; occurs late Jan–Apr. Individual variation in amount of feathers replaced. Most replace head, neck, all underparts, much of mantle, scapulars and tertials, central rectrices, many median and some lesser upperwing-coverts; some replace all upperparts, tail and tertials, and most upperwing-coverts; some replace only a few feathers on head, underparts, mantle, scapulars, tertials, and inner median upperwing-coverts.

Ground color of upperparts brownish gray; markings black, brownish gray, and white. Crown dark gray-brown with black and white streaking. Forehead, sides of head, and neck white with heavy blackish streaking. Indistinct, whitish, anterior supercilium; distinct, white eye-ring. Chin white with fine dark speckling; foreneck white with some dark streaking. Mantle, scapulars, tertials, and many innerwing-coverts spangled black, gray, and white; grayish brown on tips; lateral notches pale gray to white (lighter near feather bases), sometimes joining to form bars on tertials and coverts. Lower back blackish, feathers fringed white and pale gray. Pri-maries, secondaries, primary coverts, lesser upperwing-coverts, axillaries, and underwing as in Definitive Basic. Rump and uppertail-coverts like Definitive Basic, but more contrast between the light and dark bars. Tail like Definitive Basic but all bars complete. Underparts white. Breast suffused with gray and heavily marked with blackish streaks and spots; large triangular chevrons on sides of breast, fewer chevrons and bars on flanks.

Color names and numbers after Smithe (1975–1981).

Bill And Gape

Bills of breeding adults jet black (89) with small area of grayish horn (91), smoke gray (44), or buff (124) at base. Downy young have two-toned bills; proximal two-thirds dark neutral gray (83) and distal third blackish neutral gray (82).

Iris

Adult and juvenile iris sepia (219).

Legs And Feet

Early in breeding season legs bright yellow (occasionally slightly orangish); later (mid-Jun), legs and feet fade to dull shades of yellow such as clay color (26) or buff (24) with soles of yellow ocher (123C). Legs of immatures dirty ochre yellow, olive yellow, or straw yellow with olive tinge, becoming like adult in Oct (Burton and McNeil 1976). Downy young have clay-color feet, toes, and webbing. Ground color of downy young’s legs clay color washed with army brown (219B); also described as grading from ochre to olive brown (Street 1923).