Red-necked Stint

Scientific Name: Calidris ruficollis

The Red-necked Stint is an extraordinary migratory species that is regularly sighted along local beaches and around the Bluff.

Red-necked Stints breed in north-eastern Siberia and northern and western Alaska and follow the the East Asian-Australasian Flyway to spend the southern summer months in Australia. Some birds remain in Australia over winter whilst the majority return to above the Arctic Circle, more than 12,000 kilometres away.

Red-necked Stints forage in intertidal and coastal wetlands on a range of prey including insects, small vertebrates, molluscs, gastropods and crustaceans.

In non-breeding plumage these birds are brown and grey-brown with most feathers pale-edged, giving a mottled effect. Their breeding plumage is a rusty reddish colour.

Group: Birds
Where to find: Beaches, Intertidal Reef
Size: 17cm