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The little stint (''Calidris minuta'' or ''Erolia minuta''), is a very small wader. It breeds in arctic Europe and Asia, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to Africa and south Asia. It occasionally is a vagrant to North America and to Australia. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific ''minuta'' is Latin for "small.
File:Liitle Stint.jpg, Little stint, non breeding in February, Vasai,
Little stint species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
a
Oiseaux.net
Ageing and sexing (PDF; 1.2 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze
* * * * * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q27232 Calidris Erolia Shorebirds Birds of the Arctic Birds of Russia Birds described in 1812 Taxa named by Johann Philipp Achilles Leisler
The little stint (''Calidris minuta'' or ''Erolia minuta''), is a very small wader. It breeds in arctic Europe and Asia, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to Africa and south Asia. It occasionally is a vagrant to North America and to Australia. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific ''minuta'' is Latin for "small.
Description
Its small size, fine dark bill, dark legs and quicker movements distinguish this species from all waders except the other dark-legged stints. It can be distinguished from these in all plumages by its combination of a fine bill tip, unwebbed toes and long primary projection. The call is a sharp "stit". The breeding adult has an orange wash to the breast, a white throat and a strong white V on its back. In winter plumage identification is difficult. Juveniles have pale crown stripes and a pinkish breast. An apparent hybrid between this species and Temminck's stint has been reported from the Netherlands.Population dynamics
The numbers of this species (and of curlew sandpiper) depend on the population of lemmings. In poor lemming years, predatory species such as skuas and snowy owls take Arctic-breeding waders instead. It is gregarious in winter, sometimes forming large flocks with other ''Calidris'' waders, particularly dunlin, on coastal mudflats or the edges of inland pools. The little stint is one of the species to which the ''Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds'' ( AEWA) applies.Nesting
This bird nests on a scrape in bare ground, laying 3–5 eggs. It is polygamous, and male and female may incubate separate clutches.
Food
Food is small invertebrates picked off the mud.Gallery
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
, India.
File:Terek Sandpiper & Little Stint (Calidris minuta) W3 IMG 6891.jpg, Mixed flock with the larger Terek sandpiper in Andhra Pradesh, India.
File:Little Stint AMSM6809 LSTI.jpg, Little Stint at Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary, Gujarat, India
References
Further reading
Identification
*External links
Little stint species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
a
Oiseaux.net
Ageing and sexing (PDF; 1.2 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze
* * * * * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q27232 Calidris Erolia Shorebirds Birds of the Arctic Birds of Russia Birds described in 1812 Taxa named by Johann Philipp Achilles Leisler