The Asian Dowitcher is a medium-large shorebird in the sandpiper family (Scolopacidae). Adults measure about 33–36 cm in length, with a wingspan of around 59 cm, and weigh roughly 180–190 g.

The bird has a long neck, long legs, and a long straight bill — ideal for its probing feeding style. In breeding plumage, its head and neck appear chestnut-red with black streaks; the body shows a heavily streaked pattern of black, chestnut and white. In non-breeding (winter) plumage, it becomes much duller, often greyish and more cryptic.

Behaviorally, the Asian Dowitcher feeds by “sewing-machine”-style probing — repeatedly dipping its bill into shallow water or wet mud to catch invertebrates. Its diet includes insects, mollusks, crustaceans and marine worms.

Breeding occurs in grassy wetlands of the vast inland steppes of Siberia, Mongolia and northeast China, in areas such as lakeshores, flooded meadows, river deltas, boggy ponds — often with sedges or short grasses.

During non-breeding (migration and winter), the species favors coastal environments: tidal mudflats, estuaries, salt-pans, lagoons, creeks, and sheltered intertidal zones.
The Teluk Air Tawar – Kuala Muda coast IBA at Seberang Perai, Penang, is an important wintering site for them, with up to counts of one thousand or more, it is very common at this site, and also the North Central Selangor Coast IBA, further south along the west coast of West Malaysia.

https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/asian-dowitcher-limnodromus-semipalmatus