Size: Female (Reeve) is larger than a quail and the male (Ruff) can be much larger (size of a partridge).
Distribution: Widespread winter visitor or passage migrant; found throughout except parts of northwest, east and Himalaya.
Identification: Bill and leg colour is highly variable in the Ruff. Orange-legged individuals may be confused with the Common Redshank (Tringa totanus) but note different jizz, short bill, scalloped upperparts. The head is distinctly (almost comically) small in relation to the size of the body.