Best time to see: mid Aug to end Mar

Key facts

Long-legged wader very much like black-tailed godwit but with slightly upturned bill

Habitat: estuaries, shores and freshwater margins

Common winter visitor to Britain and Essex, breeding in the extreme north of Scandinavia and Russia

Recognition

Long black legs with upperparts chestnut all over; long slightly upturned bill; 38 cm

Female has brown upperparts that appear tortoiseshell-patterned, white below

Feeds in small groups near the water's edge, eating worms and molluscs; in flight shows no wingbar

Lifecycle

Nest is a lined scrape on ground

1 Brood May-June; 4 eggs olive brown