Biology:Little stint

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Short description: Species of bird

Little stint
In Thyna, Tunisia
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Calidris
Species:
C. minuta
Binomial name
Calidris minuta
(Leisler, 1812)
Range of C. minuta
  Breeding
  Passage
  Non-breeding
  Vagrant (seasonality uncertain)
Synonyms

Erolia minuta

The little stint (Calidris 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.[2]

Description

Little stint (on the left) and dunlin in September at the mouth of the Reda river in Puck Bay in Poland. Both birds are juveniles.

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.[3]

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 [4].

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 males and females may incubate separate clutches. Birds prefer to nest in low-lying areas within grassy tundra, often near wetlands [5].

Food

Food is small invertebrates picked off the mud. During summer in the High Arctic, growing chicks rely heavily on Diptera, particularly Chironomidae, which form nearly half of their diet [6].

  • Little stint, non breeding in February, Vasai, Maharashtra, India.
    Little stint, non breeding in February, Vasai, Maharashtra, India.
  • Mixed flock with the larger Terek sandpiper in Andhra Pradesh, India.
    Mixed flock with the larger Terek sandpiper in Andhra Pradesh, India.
  • Little Stint at Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary, Gujarat, India
    Little Stint at Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary, Gujarat, India
  • At Manohara River Kathmandu, Nepal.
    At Manohara River Kathmandu, Nepal.
  • Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden, Germany
    Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden, Germany

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2019). "Calidris minuta". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22693379A138406063.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22693379/138406063. Retrieved 1 September 2024. 
  2. ↑ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 84, 256. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4. https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling. 
  3. ↑ Jonsson, Lars (1996). "Mystery stint at Groote Keeten: First known hybrid between Little and Temminck's Stint?". Dutch Birding 18: 24–28. 
  4. ↑ Zhemchuzhnikov, Mikhail K.; Lameris, Thomas K.; Soloviev, Mikhail Y.; Golovnyuk, Viktor V.; ten Horn, Job; Kutcherov, Dmitry A.; Popovkina, Anastasia B.; Sukhova, Maria A. et al. (2024-03-01). "Food web interactions of two breeding Arctic shorebird species, little stint Calidris minuta and red knot Calidris canutus, are shaped by their elevational distribution" (in en). Polar Biology 47 (3): 247–261. doi:10.1007/s00300-024-03227-y. ISSN 1432-2056. 
  5. ↑ Zhemchuzhnikov, Mikhail K.; Lameris, Thomas K.; Soloviev, Mikhail Y.; Golovnyuk, Viktor V.; ten Horn, Job; Kutcherov, Dmitry A.; Popovkina, Anastasia B.; Sukhova, Maria A. et al. (2024-03-01). "Food web interactions of two breeding Arctic shorebird species, little stint Calidris minuta and red knot Calidris canutus, are shaped by their elevational distribution" (in en). Polar Biology 47 (3): 247–261. doi:10.1007/s00300-024-03227-y. ISSN 1432-2056. 
  6. ↑ Zhemchuzhnikov, Mikhail K.; Zhemchuzhnikova, Elena A.; Lameris, Thomas K.; van Bleijswijk, Judith D.L.; Golovnyuk, Viktor V.; ten Horn, Job; Kutcherov, Dmitry A.; Popovkina, Anastasia B. et al. (June 2024). "Disentangling the diet composition of chicks of Arctic shorebirds provides a new perspective on trophic mismatches" (in en). Food Webs 39. doi:10.1016/j.fooweb.2024.e00349. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2352249624000156. 

Further reading

Identification

  • Jonsson, Lars; Grant, Peter J. (1984). "Identification of stints and peeps". British Birds 77 (7): 293–315. 

Template:Scolopacidae Wikidata ☰ Q27232 entry



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