Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis Scientific name definitions

The Red-necked Stint is a small and cute calidridine sandpiper that, when in breeding or juvenile plumages, is rather pretty as well, its chest and face blushing red and/or its scapulars highlighted by chestnut. Its appearance belies its toughness. Its Arctic breeding grounds are prone to bouts of icy cruelty, even at summer's peak. Thereafter, the Red-necked Stint undertakes an arduous migration of more than 10,000 km (for most) to the nonbreeding grounds, which are largely in Australasia and Southeast Asia. During this migration, it will likely encounter proficient avian predators, such as the Merlin (Falco columbarius) and Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus). It may also encounter humans hunting with guns and nets. The habitat along important stretches of its migration route has been diminished in size and quality, with some areas tarnished by high levels of heavy metals, the most threatening of which is lead. Indeed, some living birds accumulate potentially lethal lead levels. Add to that disease. In Australia, 0.7–4.5% of those sampled had evidence of past infection by a highly pathogenic influenza A virus. The number that had been infected and perished is unknown.

Given the challenges of its migration, it is not surprising that most Red-necked Stint choose to remain on their nonbreeding grounds during their first "summer" (which is the austral winter) rather than flying to the Russian Arctic to breed. Adults, however, do head north, mostly departing the nonbreeding areas from late March through April and arriving at their Russian arctic and subarctic breeding grounds (which lie mostly from the Gyda Peninsula east to the eastern tip of the Chuchotski Peninsula) during the first two weeks of June. There, nests are nestled into the ground or sod, and into these four eggs are typically deposited between late May and mid-June. These hatch in about three weeks, and the resulting chicks fledge 16–17 days later. Adult females depart not long after the chicks hatch, and males depart when their chicks fledge, with the youngsters departing a couple of weeks later. Overall, departure from the breeding areas stretches from late June to late August, and birds arrive at the nonbreeding grounds from August into December. During its lengthy migration, the Red-necked Stint usually stops 4–10 times, with the shores of China's Yellow Sea, Transbaikalia's Torey Lakes/Daursky Wetlands, and the northwestern coast of Australia playing an important role. During this journey, many undertake at least one continuous flight of over 100 hours covering 3,000–4,330 km.

During the breeding season, the Red-necked Stint is to be found on arctic and subarctic tundra, generally favoring somewhat drier areas. Otherwise, it is mostly a bird of lightly or unvegetated coastal habitats, especially intertidal mudflats, but at times some individuals visit freshwater wetlands that are near the coast or truly inland. This species typically hunts by walking (or running) and pecking or probing at a rate of 22–114 "foraging movements"/minute. Its favored prey includes amphipods (a group of small crustaceans with a somewhat shrimp-like appearance) and small snails (Gastropoda), but it also readily feeds on insects, small crabs (Decapoda), and seeds. Perhaps startling is recent work suggesting that biofilm (which consists of microbes, their extracellular mucus substances, and detritus) scraped from the surface of tidal flats by tiny spines on the tongue tip forms important part of the species' diet.

The global population of the Red-necked Stint is estimated at approximately 475,000 individuals, with (during the nonbreeding season) approximately 80% in Australia, over 10% in Southeast Asia, about 4% in southern China, and smaller numbers in Papua New Guinea, Bangladesh, India, and New Zealand. Based on counts at the Yellow Sea during migration, the population is declining at approximately 1.6% per year, but based on counts in Australia, the decline is steeper, from 3.06–3.86% per year. The predominant threat appears to be habitat loss and degradation along the east coast of Asia, especially along the shores of the Yellow Sea, but also elsewhere along the Chinese and Korean coastlines. While there is no specific conservation plan for the Red-necked Stint, the loss of this habitat is important to a myriad of species, and there has been a substantial push to preserve and improve that which remains.