Red-necked stint

　This sandpiper is so small that it appears to have been born that very year (Tōnen in Japanese), hence its Japanese name ‘Tōnen’. It is one of the smallest sandpipers found in Japan.

　Although only about the size of a sparrow, it is a prime example of a long-distance migrant, breeding in Siberia and migrating to overwinter in regions stretching from South-East Asia to Australia.

　In summer plumage, its face, breast and back take on a beautiful reddish-brown colour, but during the autumn migration, it is more common to see birds in their drab winter plumage or young birds born that same year.

　Whilst the closely related Little Stint is commonly seen in Europe, the Red-necked Stint is an extremely rare bird and is one that visitors from overseas particularly wish to see in Japan.

　Although it is by no means a rare bird, numbers in Kyoto have been declining, and it is listed as a species at risk of extinction in the Kyoto Prefecture Red Data Book.