Stilt Sandpiper

Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus) is a long-legged sandpiper with a slightly downcurved bill and strongly barred underparts in breeding plumage. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds on Arctic tundra and feeds in shallow wetlands by probing, picking and sweeping its bill through water for aquatic insects and other small invertebrates. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).