Stints!

Red-necked Stint, トウネン, Temminck’s Stint, オジロトウネン and Long-toed Stint, ヒバリシギ.

They are the smallest migratory waders in our area. about 13 - 16 cm. Feed mainly on insects on soft mud and among grass. I always watch for them, specially at wider mudflats of the Ariaki Sea, hoping to see the Little Stint one day or the similar sized Spoonbill Sandpiper!

Gregarious birds with a small black bill and black legs, the Red-necked Stint, トウネン

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The  Temminck’s Stint, オジロトウネン looks similar, but has yellow legs and more brown-grey upper parts. It's not seen in big groups, usually and has a complicated parenting system, where the male looks after the eggs of the female, who leaves him to lay her own second clutch in a different location, often teaming up with another male, who might be abandonned by his ex...

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Last but not least, Long-toed Stint, ヒバリシギ, A pretty, slender, brownish bird with short bill, yellow legs and long toes.