It breeds in Yellow Sea coastal saltmarshes, mainly in eastern China and occasionally on the southwestern coast of South Korea. Outside the breeding season it moves to coasts of eastern China, Japan, Taiwan and Korea.
In breeding plumage it has a black head and nape with white crescents around the eyes, a white body, gray wings and red legs. Outside the breeding season the head becomes mostly white, with gray marks around the eyes and nape.
It nests in saltmarsh dominated by common seepweed and forages on tidal flats and muddy estuaries. Both its breeding and feeding habitats are tied to coastal wetlands.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.