A small shorebird with a spoon-shaped bill. It migrates between breeding grounds in Russia and wintering wetlands in South Asia.
The tip of its bill widens into a rounded, spoon-like shape.
It winters in South Asian wetlands and migrates between them and its breeding grounds through Indochina, stopping at coastal wetlands such as sites in China.
It lays four eggs in a shallow tundra hollow, often in moss, lined with a few dwarf willow leaves. Both parents incubate in shifts, usually the male by day and female by night. Hatching begins after about 21 days.
Chicks feed themselves from their first day, while adults call them close and brood them for warmth. After the last chick leaves the nest, the female departs the breeding grounds and the male leads the brood.
Breeding birds have orange-brown faces and streaked breasts. Nonbreeding birds are gray-brown above with white underparts and front faces. Juveniles have broad pale feather edges and dark streaks on the breast sides.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.