The wedge-shaped bill is used to lift up shoreline pebbles and debris where they forage on hidden invertebrates. This individual is in winter (basic) plumage.
Two races are recognized. Birds wintering in the Caribbean are attributed to A. i. morinella confined to the Americas. It is distinguished in male breeding plumage by brighter red back, less marked head and slightly smaller size cf. the nominate race which replaces it in the Palearctic, Baffin Island and parts of Alaska. The differences in winter plumage are slight and winter ranges for the two subspecies are somewhat conjectural.
Digiscoped with Panasonic DMC-LZ5 | Nikon FieldScope III | 30XWA | hand-held (no adapter)