- Lifespan
- 12–15 years in the wild
- Size & Weight
- 20–22 cm, wingspan 42–46 cm; 90–150 g
- Habitat
- High-altitude montane moorland, upland plateaus, and tundra-like terrain, typically above 600 m in the UK.
- UK Distribution
- Summer breeding visitor to Scottish Highlands, particularly the Cairngorms and other high mountain ranges from April to August; rare passage migrant in spring and autumn on lowland coasts.
- Diet
- Primarily small invertebrates including insects, spiders, and crustaceans picked from the ground and vegetation.
- Prey
- Beetles, flies, grasshoppers, spiders, small crustaceans
- Predators
- Golden eagles, common kestrels, great skuas, and occasionally foxes and stoats targeting eggs and chicks.
- Mating Season
- April to August
- Breeding
- Clutch of 3 eggs (occasionally 2–4); incubation period 24–26 days; single brood per year. Males and females share incubation duties.
- Behaviour
- Highly territorial and cryptic breeders with remarkable sex-role reversal: females are more brightly plumaged and take a dominant courtship role. They perform a distinctive distraction display when defending nests, crouching low and shuffling away to lead predators from eggs or chicks.