A shorebird that breeds in wetlands from arctic to temperate regions and also uses mudflats and grasslands during migration and winter. Breeding males display elaborate head and neck feathers.
Breeding males grow head tufts and a broad collar of neck feathers. Their colors and patterns vary, while females are smaller and mainly brown and white.
It probes mud or damp soil for insects and other prey. During the breeding season, males spread their feathers at communal display grounds visited by females.
Males leave the breeding grounds after mating; females build the nest, incubate the eggs, and care for the young. The female feeds the chicks for their first few days until they can feed themselves.
The female lines a concealed ground scrape with grass, leaves and stems. She incubates three or four pale green or olive eggs with dark brown markings for 20–23 days.
Breeding birds mainly eat insects, especially beetles, flies and their larvae. During migration and the nonbreeding season they also eat spiders, crustaceans, mollusks, worms, small fish, frogs and rice seeds.
Juveniles have buff faces and breasts, white bellies and neatly scaled backs. Their bills are black, while leg color varies from orange to greenish. In flight a narrow white wingbar and white V or U above the tail show, and the feet project beyond the tail.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.