In breeding plumage, males are sexually dimorphic and are characterized by a rust-colored head with a green eye patch extending from above the eye, just short of the crown and nape, and continuing over the ear coverts to the base of the neck. They have a cream-colored breast with dark brown spots, a gray back from mantle to rump, and a triangular yellow patch under the tail coverts. The flanks are dark gray, and the belly is light gray. American subspecies have a vertical white stripe in front of the wing on the side of the body, while the Eurasian subspecies has a white horizontal patch of feathers above the secondary flight feathers and a well-defined cream-colored outline around the green eye patch. In eclipse plumage, males resemble females, which are mottled brown and tan overall with a white chin and belly, dark bill and fore-wings, and a greenish-gray bill with faint spots along the sides. As they mature, the bill becomes plain gray. Both sexes have gray feet, dark brown irises, and whitish-gray under-wings. Hatchlings are virtually indistinguishable by sex, with yellow heads and bellies, olive-brown bodies from crown to rump, yellow dorsal spots, and pronounced brown eye stripes. Juvenile plumage is similar to that of adult females, though female bellies are whiter than those of males.