It is a dainty shorebird with lobed toes and a straight fine black bill.

The breeding male is a duller version of the female, with a brown back, and the reddish patches reduced or absent.

[8] Young birds are grey and brown above, with whitish underparts and a dark patch through the eye.

This behaviour is thought to aid feeding by raising food from the bottom of shallow water.

The bird will reach into the outskirts of the vortex with its bill, plucking small insects or crustaceans caught up therein.

Although very common, this bird's population may have declined in some areas due to the loss of prairie wetland habitat.