Little Stint (Calidris minuta) lives in wet tundra areas across Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, Asia. It feeds on small invertebrates & insects. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Little Stint
- The little stint breeds on the tundra of arctic Europe and Asia, preferring low-lying grassy areas near wetlands. After the breeding season it embarks on a long-distance migration, travelling thousands of kilometres to winter on coastal mudflats of Africa and south-Asia. Occasionally individuals stray far from this route and appear as vagrants in North America or even Australia. The species is covered by the AEWA migratory-waterbird agreement.
- While the little stint normally breeds across the Arctic reaches of Europe and Asia, it is capable of covering immense distances each year. After nesting it joins large winter flocks on the coasts of Africa and the Indian subcontinent, exploiting abundant mudflat invertebrates. On rare occasions birds are recorded far outside their usual flyway, turning up in North America and as far as Australia.
- A documented case of hybridisation shows that the little stint can interbreed with the closely related Temminck's stint, with an apparent hybrid reported from the Netherlands. This species is set apart from other waders by its very small size, fine dark bill and unwebbed toes, traits that also help identify pure individuals. The combination of a fine bill tip and a long primary projection further distinguishes it in all plumages.
- The little stint's numbers rise and fall with lemming abundance, so its fate is tightly bound to those small rodents. When lemming populations crash, the birds become a fallback prey for Arctic predators. In such poor lemming years, skuas and snowy owls shift their diet to feed on Arctic-breeding waders. This predator switch can sharply affect local stint populations during the breeding season.
- Little stints forage for tiny invertebrates on mud surfaces, pulling them from the substrate with their fine bills. In the High Arctic summer, their chicks depend heavily on flies, especially members of the Chironomidae family, which constitute almost half of the young birds' diet. This reliance on Diptera provides the rapid protein boost needed for chick growth before they switch to a broader invertebrate menu.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.
At a glance
RangeSub-Saharan Africa, Europe, Asia
HabitatWet tundra areas
DietSmall invertebrates & insects
About the Little Stint
As the tide recedes, a diminutive figure emerges from the misty veil of the shoreline, the Little Stint dancing across the wet sand with an air of effortless elegance, its tiny legs a blur of motion as it probes the exposed mudflats for hidden morsels. With each fleeting step, the stint's delicate silhouette is set against the vast, shifting tapestry of the coastal landscape, a testament to the remarkable resilience of this smallest of shorebirds. In its whirling, restless passage, the Little Stint embodies the very essence of migration, a tiny, tireless traveler bound to the ancient rhythms of the wild.
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