This species breeds on small lakes, pools, bogs and streams of the tundra. It mainly feeds on molluscs but will also take crustaceans, with a more varied diet in summer including insects, arachnids, berries and seeds. It feeds by diving, and will pluck or dabble on the surface. Breeding begins in May or June in single pairs or loose groups (del Hoyo et al. 1992).

This species breeds along the coasts of north-east Siberia, Russia, east from the Yana Delta to Cape Schmidt, and also along the Beaufort Sea coast of Alaska's North Slope and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, USA. 90% of the breeding population is thought to inhabit the Russian range with just 5% of the population residing in the northern Alaskan and Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta ranges respectively (Goldman et al. 2017). Its wintering grounds have only recently been discovered in an otherwise unbroken sea of ice halfway between St Lawrence and St Matthew Islands in the Bering sea (Balogh 1996, Petersen 1996, Solovyeva 2011).

Conservation Actions Underway
In 2000 the US Fish and Wildlife Service designated 62,386 km² of critical coastal habitat for the conservation of this species (Anon. 2001). Winter surveys are planned to get a revised population size estimate, and a better idea of the magnitude of overall trends (K. Martin in litt. 2018).

Conservation Actions Proposed
Continue regular monitoring of the winter population, as this is the easiest way to monitor overall trends. Conduct research across wider areas of the Russian population, where possible. Assess the amount of hunting pressure on the species in Russia.