Temminck's Stint

Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii) is a tiny brown-grey sandpiper with yellowish legs, fine bill and white outer tail feathers. 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 feeds singly along muddy freshwater edges, picking insects and larvae, and breeds across Arctic and subarctic Eurasia. 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).