Curlew Sandpiper

The curlew sandpiper is a small, long-distance migratory wader that breeds in the bogs and coastal lowlands of the Siberian Arctic and winters in Africa and along the coasts of Oceania and southern Eurasia, on tidal mudflats and saltpans. Non-breeding birds are brown-grey above and white below; in breeding plumage the whole front is a deep rusty colour, more strongly in males (Wikipedia, general species account).

First-year birds do not migrate or breed but stay in the wintering range. Courtship is complex, including a male building a false nest to show the female, and an aerial chase with warbling calls. Adults can be confused with the red knot or the dunlin.