A sandpiper that breeds in the Arctic and travels to distant coasts during migration. Its belly turns orange-red in breeding plumage.
In breeding plumage, the underparts are orange-red and the upperparts have fine gold, buff, rufous, and black patterns. Nonbreeding birds are mainly gray, and the shade and extent of red vary among subspecies.
It breeds on high-latitude tundra. During migration and winter it searches for small animals on beaches and mudflats, and roosts in flocks. Six subspecies are recognised, with different breeding and wintering ranges.
The male prepares shallow scrapes in dry, stony tundra, and the female selects the nest. It is lined with grass and leaves and holds three or four eggs. Both males and females incubate; after 21–23 days, downy chicks hatch and soon leave the nest.
Small bivalves form much of the diet for much of the year, alongside snails, amphipods, marine worms, shrimp and tiny crabs. On Arctic breeding grounds birds also take early-season seeds and shoots, while chicks eat insects such as midges.
It is stocky, with a straight, sturdy bill and dark or greenish legs. Juveniles have fine back scaling and a white eyebrow. Nonbreeding birds are gray above and pale below, with faint breast and flank markings.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.