Appearance

The following descriptions are for the nominate race L. g. griseus, unless otherwise noted.

Hatchlings

For L. g. hendersoni: Covered with down. Upperparts rich brown and black. White tips to some feathers (“bottle brush” feathers; Jehl 1968b) form 2 parallel lines on dorsum extending from shoulders to tail, paralleled by shorter lines from flanks toward rump. Cheeks, throat, and breast yellowish-buff, belly whitish. Dark crown and stripe in front of and behind eye. Broad, whitish stripe above eye. Iris of newly hatched chick dark brown. Legs greenish with black spotting on lateral surface, toes (JRJ). See also Rowan 1927: 215.

Juvenal Plumage

No information on timing or sequence of Prejuvenal molt. Upperparts and scapulars as in Definitive Alternate plumage, but ground color dark brown, not black, and edges wider and brighter cinnamon or buff-brown. Incomplete cinnamon bars and edges of tertials also wider and brighter, and bars tend more to longitudinal streaks. Underparts dull white, suffused with buff or pale brown-gray, center of belly almost pure white. Flanks less heavily and less regularly barred dark brown than in Definitive Alternate plumage, and dark bars on under tail-coverts paler. Rectrices usually with more and narrower dark-brown bars than in Definitive Alternate plumage. Remiges as in Definitive Basic plumage. When fresh, pale edges to upper wing-coverts wider and more strongly tinged rufous.

Basic I Plumage

Acquired by incomplete Prebasic I (Postjuvenal) molt begins between mid-Sep and Nov. Most birds retain inner median upper wing-coverts from Juvenal plumage, which are brown with bright buffy tips. As season advances, increasingly difficult to distinguish retained Juvenal feathers from adult ones. Replacement of Juvenal rectrices (retained in juvenile Long-billed Dowitcher), allows separation of hatch-year birds from after hatch year birds in this species (Pitelka 1950). Sexes alike.

Alternate I Plumage

Prealternate I molt incomplete; timing as in adults. Extent highly variable; some replace as many feathers as adults, but molt more restricted (or skipped) among birds summering near winter quarters, producing mixed body plumage. Entire tail normally not molted (Pitelka 1950), but central tail-feathers usually replaced (Rowan 1932, JRJ). Variable amount of upper tail-coverts replaced, occasionally some outer primaries. Birds that retain almost all nonbreeding feathers during summer almost certainly 1 yr old (Cramp and Simmons 1983). All replaced feathering resembles that of Definitive Alternate plumage.

Definitive Basic Plumage

Definitive Prebasic molt complete. Males start molting head, face, and neck about 16 Jul on breeding grounds (females already departed). Adults in heavy body molt when they pass through Magdalen Is., Quebec, in mid-Jul and Aug (McNeil and Cadieux 1972) and in same time period along mid-Atlantic Coast (Jehl 1963). Molt of body-feathering increases in intensity and molt of remiges begins as soon as birds leave breeding grounds. Along Atlantic Coast, adult females may replace all but outer 3 primaries by 5–10 Aug, males all but the outermost primaries by 18 Aug. Primary molt typically completed 5–15 Sep. Some adults finish body molt by mid-Aug in New Jersey, but mid-Sep usual (JRJ). Some, however, still molting into Nov (McNeil 1970), indicating that replacement suspended at times during migration. In s. Saskatchewan, Alexander and Gratto-Trevor (1997: 20) reported that “by 8 August a few birds are moulting all tail feathers. Wing molt progressed regularly from the first to outer primary, and secondary molt from the first to inner secondary. Secondary moult was initiated approximately at the time the sixth primary was moulted.” Birds that spent their first summer in Florida in Basic I plumage molted directly to Definitive Basic plumage; molt began in Jun (Loftin 1962).

Feathers of upperparts almost uniform gray, narrowly tipped slightly paler. Lower back and rump white with black spots, which grade to form black bars on white upper tail-coverts. Broad white supercilium contrasting with gray crown. Sides of head mixed gray and white. Upper breast and sides of lower breast gray, intermixed with various amounts of white. Lower breast and belly pure white. Tail regularly barred brown-black and white. Flight feathers as in Alternate. Upper wing-coverts gray, narrowly edged and tipped white. Under wing-coverts as in Alternate.

Definitive Alternate Plumage

Definitive Prealternate molt incomplete; includes almost all body-feathering, some upper wing-coverts, most scapulars, some tertials, and usually central rectrices, rarely other rectrices. Molt begins Feb–Mar, completed May–Jun (Rowan 1932: 18; Pitelka 1950).

Crown-, nape-, and mantle-feathers black, edged pale rufous to cinnamon. Scapulars black, narrowly barred pale rufous, edged pale buff to white. Lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts as in Basic plumage. Sepia streak from bill to eye. Underparts pale cinnamon, mottled with white, especially on center of belly. Breast spotted dark brown, dark spots grading to bars on sides of breast and flanks. Under tail-coverts cinnamon to white, regularly barred brown-black. Most rectrices retained from Basic plumage, but pale bars on replaced central pair (R1) usually tinged cinnamon. Primaries dusky brown with brown shaft, except tenth primary with white shaft. Inner webs mottled white and pale brown toward base. Inner primaries (1–4) paler, tinged gray and married white with irregular dusky brown submarginal line. Secondaries gray-brown with broad white edges and narrow white streak along shaft on outer webs; inner webs irregularly mottled or barred white; basal half of shaft brown, rest white. Tertials black, irregularly barred and edged pale rufous to cinnamon. Upper primary-coverts dusky brown. Greater upper wing-coverts gray-brown edged and tipped white, sometimes with small subterminal white spot. Median wing-coverts black, irregularly edged and barred pale rufous to buff. Lesser wing-coverts dusky gray-brown, narrowly edged buff to white. Under wing-coverts white with dark brown U or V marks (Cramp and Simmons 1983). Sexual dimorphism in plumage coloration; females less brightly colored, and more heavily spotted on underparts.

Bill

Blackish, paler and tinted green or olive at base.

Iris

Dark brown.

Legs And Feet

Yellowish-green.