Little Stint

Calidris minuta

Introduction

The smallest of our regularly occurring waders, the Little Stint is mostly recorded on spring and (especially) autumn passage.

About two-thirds the size of Dunlin (with which it is often found), Little Stint can be identified by its shorter, straighter bill. It is typically found on the edge of fresh or brackish water, running and pecking the mud.

Birds passing through Britain breed in northern Scandinavia and north-west Russia and winter in southern Europe and western Africa. One colour-ringed bird was marked on the west coast of Norway on 24 September then identified 3 days later in East Yorkshire having travelled over 1,000 km.

Key Stats

Scarce

24g

4-4

<1%

BTO Records

60k records

Population and distribution stats for:

No data

No current data

No current data

No data

70.5% expansion

Identification

Curated resources to aid in the identification of Little Stint

Songs and Calls

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Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Little Stint, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

Song:

Flight call:

Status and Trends

Population size, trends and patterns of distribution based on BTO and partnership surveys and atlasses with data collected by BTO volunteers.

Conservation Status

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This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

UK Birds of Conservation Concern

Green listed

Species of European Conservation Concern

Least Concern

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)

Least Concern

Schedule 1 Licence required (to disturb)*

Birds Directive Annex 1

Listed on the Annexes of*

Bern(III), Bonn(II), AEWA

* A guide only. Check details with the original legislation, especially those marked with an asterisk. See About Birdfacts for more information.

Population Size

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BOU Category

Source

First Record*

Cambridgeshire, 1776

* First documented occurrence. Most species undoubtedly occurred before this. See About Birdfacts for more information.

Population Change

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Little Stint is predominantly a passage migrant in the UK, recorded mostly on autumn migration between late July and October Balmer et al. 2013]. Only a handful of individuals winter in the UK [Frost et al. 2019]. [WeBS data show a peak in numbers recorded in the UK in winter 2000/01, since when numbers have declined; there has been a small increase in numbers seen in the past 15 years. At a flyway scale, the population trend shows a marked decline since the early 1980s [van Roomen 2022].

Distribution

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During the 2007–11 winter period, Little Stints were recorded from 108 10-km squares, mostly in the southern half of England and at coastal sites, though inland reservoirs and gravel pits were also utilised.

Occupied 10-km squares in UK

These figures come from Bird Atlas 2007 and indicate how widespread a species is.

No. occupied in winter

101

% occupied in winter

3.3%

Bird Atlas distribution maps show where bird species breed or winter in Britain and Ireland. For breeding maps, larger dots indicate higher certainty the species bred in that area.

Click the map to enlarge,
or view it on Bird Atlas Mapstore.

Click the map to enlarge,
or view it on Bird Atlas Mapstore.

To view and download up-to-date distribution information aggregated from across BTO and partnership surveys and schemes, see our data holdings on the NBN Atlas.

European Distribution Map

European Breeding Bird Atlas 2

Distribution Change

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Change in occupied 10-km squares in the UK

These figures come from Bird Atlas 2007-11 and indicate by how much occupied areas have expanded or contracted over recent decades.

% change in range in winter (1981–84 to 2007–11)

70.5 %

Bird Atlas distribution change maps show how bird distributions have changed through time. Coloured upward-pointing triangles show places apparently colonised over the period; grey downward-pointing triangles show places apparently vacated. Shading show places occupied.

Winter Distribution change for Little Stint

Click the map to enlarge,
or view it on Bird Atlas Mapstore.

Seasonality

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Little Stints are passage migrants, most often encountered in autumn when numbers are swelled by returning juveniles; small numbers winter.

Weekly pattern of occurrence

The graph shows when the species is present in the UK, with taller bars indicating a higher likelihood of encountering the species in appropriate regions and habitats.

Phenology graph — Weekly occurrence patterns (shaded cells and reporting rates (vertical bars) based on BirdTrack data. Reporting rates give the likelihood of encountering the species each week.

Movement

Information about Little Stint movements and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.

Britain & Ireland movement

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View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

Dots show the foreign destinations of birds ringed in Britain & Ireland, and the origins of birds ringed overseas that were subsequently recaptured, resighted or found dead in Britain & Ireland. Dot colours indicate the time of year that the species was present at the location.

Winter (Nov-Feb)
Spring (Mar-Apr)
Summer (May-Jul)
Autumn (Aug-Oct)

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

European movements

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EuroBirdPortal uses birdwatcher's records, such as those logged in BirdTrack to map the flows of birds as they arrive and depart Europe. See maps for this species here.

The Eurasian-African Migration Atlas shows movements of individual birds ringed or recovered in Europe. See maps for this species here.

Biology

Lifecycle and body size information for Little Stint, including statistics on nesting, eggs and lifespan based on BTO ringing and nest recording data.

Productivity and Nesting

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Nesting timing

Typical (exceptional) number of broods

Source

Egg measurements

Typical length x width

29x21 mm

Mass (% shell)

6.3g (5%)

Source

Clutch Size

Typical number

4-4 eggs

Observed minimum and maximum

3-4 eggs

Source

Incubation

Incubation by

Male (occ. Female)

Typical duration

25-20 days

Source

Fledging

Type of chick

Precocial, downy

Typical duration

21-15 days

Source

Survival and Longevity

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Survival is shown as the proportion of birds surviving from one year to the next and is derived from bird ringing data. It can also be used to estimate how long birds typically live.

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report.

lifespan

Typical life expectancy of bird reaching breeding age

with breeding typically at 2 years

Source

Maximum age from a ringed bird

3 years, 11 months, 27 days (set in 1956)

Biometrics

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Wing length and body weights are from live birds (source).

Wing length

Average ±1 std deviation; range and sample size in brackets.

Juvenile

99±3.4 mm

(94-105 mm, N=99)

Body weight

Average ±1 std deviation; range and sample size in brackets.

Juvenile

99±3.4 mm

(94-105 mm, N=99)

Ring Size

A2 or B2

Classification, names and codes

Taxonomy, names and species codes for Little Stint

Classification and Codes

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Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Scientific name: Calidris minuta
Authority: Leisler, 1812

BTO 2-letter code: LX
BTO 5-letter code: LITST
Euring code number: 5010

Alternate species names

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Catalan: territ menut comú
Czech: jespák malý
Danish: Dværgryle
Dutch: Kleine Strandloper
Estonian: väikerüdi e. väikerisla
Finnish: pikkusirri
French: Bécasseau minute
Gaelic: Luatharan-beag

German: Zwergstrandläufer
Hungarian: apró partfutó
Icelandic: Veimiltíta
Irish: Gobadáinín Beag
Italian: Gambecchio comune
Latvian: trulitis
Lithuanian: mažasis begikas
Norwegian: Dvergsnipe

Polish: biegus malutki
Portuguese: pilrito-pequeno
Slovak: pobrežník malý
Slovenian: mali prodnik
Spanish: Correlimos menudo
Swedish: småsnäppa
Welsh: Pibydd Bach

More Evidence

More evidence from Conservation Evidence.com

Partners

Birdfacts is based on data collected by volunteers participating in surveys that are organised and funded by BTO, RSPB, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, JNCC and other partners.

BTO

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

JNCC

RSPB

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