A shorebird with bright yellow legs and a thin bill. It breeds in northern North America and uses shallow wetlands during migration.
Adults have bright yellow legs and a thin dark bill. They show more streaking on the breast in breeding plumage and become plainer outside the breeding season.
It walks quickly through wetlands and mudflats, picking up small insects and snails with its bill.
It hides a ground or moss-scrape nest beside fallen wood or under low shrubs, lining it with dry grass or leaves. Clutches have 3–5 eggs, incubated for 22–23 days. Downy chicks leave within hours and feed themselves.
It eats flies, beetles, dragonflies of all life stages and snails, occasionally taking small fish or seeds. It strides quickly with its neck outstretched and jabs at prey, sometimes feeding at night.
It has a white eye-ring. Juveniles often show fine back spots and smudgy breast markings. In flight the rump is white and the wings are plain.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.