The hunakai, or sanderling, is a delicate white and grey-back shorebird. Their bill and legs are black. When returning to their breeding home in the arctic, from April through August, they show more reddish brown on their head, chest, and back. They are commonly found in small groups in mudflats and along the shore, wading in their namesake, hunakai (Hawaiian for seafoam) searching for small insets and shellfish.