Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

In breeding plumage, exceptional in Europe, the upper feathers are dark brown with broad reddish and off-white edging. Red cap. Light eyebrow widening in front of the eye. Neck and top of the chest heavily spotted with brown. Bottom of the chest, top of the belly and flanks marked with dark chevrons. In winter plumage, the bird appears more grayish, the neck and chest are less intensely spotted and the chevron pattern on the belly and flanks is practically invisible. The cap and eyebrow are still clearly visible.
The juveniles appear red (cap, neck, top of the chest, back). The sides and front of the neck are marked with thin dark streaks that are not very noticeable.
The color of the legs varies from yellow to yellow-olive or grayish olive. The beak, barely the same length as the head, is very slightly curved downwards. It is a fairly pale gray-brown.
This species is very close to the Spotted Sandpiper (see this sheet) which has a longer bill (yellowish base) and neck and whose chest is a more intense red in all plumages and, above all, in which this color is clearly separated from the white belly. In flight, the two species are very similar. The fingers protrude very slightly from the tail of the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, not in the Spotted Sandpiper.