Thelittle stint (Calidris minuta) is a very smallwader. It breeds inarcticEurope and Asia, and is a long-distancemigrant, wintering south to Africa and south Asia. It occasionally is a vagrant to North America and to Australia. The genus name is fromAncient Greekkalidris orskalidris, a term used byAristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specificminuta isLatin for "small.[2]
Its small size, fine dark bill, dark legs and quicker movements distinguish this species from all waders except the other dark-leggedstints. 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.
The numbers of this species (and ofcurlew sandpiper) depend on the population oflemmings. In poor lemming years, predatory species such asskuas andsnowy owls take Arctic-breeding waders instead.
It is gregarious in winter, sometimes forming large flocks with otherCalidris waders, particularlydunlin, on coastal mudflats or the edges of inland pools.
The little stint is one of the species to which theAgreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
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