Also known as the Eastern Broad-billed Sandpiper, the Broad-billed Sandpiper is a small, short-necked, shot-legged migratory wader with a diagnostic long, straight black bill which is flattened and kinked downards at the tip. The wing-tips project a short distance beyond the tip of the tail at rest. In Australia the Broad-billed Sandpiper is only seen in its non-breeding plumage, in which the centre of the forehead, crown, nape, hindneck and sides of the neck are a pale grey-brown finely streaked with black. The underbody is mostly white and the foreneck and breast are pale-grey brown with a fine dark streaking. There are two light stripes above the eyes and a dark median stripe.