Calidris minuta
Scientific name:
Calidris minuta
Family:
Sandpipers, snipes and phalaropesConservation status:
Green
Length:
12cm to 14cm
Wingspan:
34cm to 37cm
Weight:
20g to 40g
The little stint is a very small wading bird with medium-length black legs and a straight and short black beak. In winter it is grey-ish brown on the upper parts and white underneath. In autumn these birds have two pale stripes or 'braces' running down their backs.
Little Stints don't breed here in the UK and are instead a passage migrant - in autumn most of the birds seen here are juveniles, whereas in spring you'll see more adults - but in small numbers. In winter most birds migrate to Africa leaving very few birds here.
These birds are often seen alongside feeding dunlin.
Their diets mainly consist of insects, but also will eat molluscs and crustaceans.
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