Clive Harris asked me offline how a Ruff could have dark legs.  I was just
reporting what I saw in the field:  a shorebird with the shape, size and
small bill of a Ruff (male) which appeared to have dark legs.  I only saw
the top of the legs because the bird was in a few inches of water and was
partly obscured by grasses.  Dave Larkin explains the leg color as follows:
"Ruffs can vary widely in size and leg coloration. The leg coloration can
vary from greenish thru yellow/orange to red. I have seen Ruffs in some
light where the legs appear quite dark and often have turned out to actually
have  red legs. In this bird  the legs appeared dark (my suspicion is that
the legs were probably red but I have no evidence for that) so one reports
what one sees."  The bird did not have the elaborate breeding "ruff" that
gives the species its name; it had a pattern of streaks down the sides of
the breast with the center of the breast more-or-less clear.  I am a little
bit tentative about this bird, but I defer to Dave who has far more
experience with the species.  

 

As to the smaller, female bird with orange legs, there is no doubt:  it was
a Ruff (or Reeve, if you prefer).

 

Dave will write to Phil Davis of the Records Committee about his
identification of the Little Stint; I hope the details will also be posted
to Osprey.

 

Peter Lev

Towson, MD