Little stint
Calidris minuta (Leisler, 1812)
The little stint (Calidris minuta) is a small migratory bird in the family Scolopacidae, order Charadriiformes. Adults weigh 21.1 g, with a highest reported body mass of 28.85 g, and have a wingspan of 36 cm.
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Quick facts about the little stint
It is a carnivore in the aquatic predator diet category, with a terrestrial lifestyle and grassland habitat. Clutches hold 4 eggs, with 2 clutches per year and an incubation period of 20.5 days; the species is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 21.1 g – 28.9 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 36 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 12 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 14.7 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 20.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the little stint?
Photos of the little stint
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the little stint live?
Not recorded
What is the little stint?
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.
From the Wikipedia article “Little stint” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Little_stint&oldid=1368621494), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the little stint endangered?
The little stint is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the little stint classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyScolopacidae
- genusCalidris
- SpeciesCalidris minuta (Leisler, 1812)
Synonyms Ereunetes minutus, Erolia minuta, Erolia ruficollis minuta, Tringa minuta
Other names and names in other languages (99)
- LISTEnglish
- KleinstrandloperAfrikaans
- دريجة صغيرةArabic
- الطيطوى الصغيرةArabic
- mazaricu nanuAsturian
- Sərçəvi qumluqcaAzerbaijani
- Кіркун малыBelarusian
- Малы кiркунBelarusian
- Кулік-верабейBelarusian
- Малък брегобегачBulgarian
- ছোট চাপাখিBangla
- Sourouc'han bihanBreton
- Territ menutCatalan
- territ menut comúCatalan
- Пӗчӗк ҫыран кайӑкӗChuvash
- jespák malýCzech
- pibydd bachWelsh
- Pibyddion BachWelsh
- dværgryleDanish
- ZwergstrandläuferGerman
- ΝανονεραλλίδιGreek
- Κοινή ΝανοσκαλίδραGreek
- (Κοινή) ΝανοσκαλίδραGreek
- eta kalidroEsperanto
- Malgranda kalidroEsperanto
- Playero MenorSpanish
- Correlimos menudoSpanish
- Playero menudoSpanish
- VäikerislaEstonian
- VäikerüdiEstonian
- väikerüdi e. väikerislaEstonian
- Txirri txikiBasque
- تلیله کوچکPersian
- pikkusirriFinnish
- DvørggrælingurFaroese
- Bécasseau minuteFrench
- KleiprakerNorthern Frisian
- Gobadáinín beagIrish
- Luatharan beagScottish Gaelic
- Pliro patimouroGalician
- Pilriño patimouroGalician
- Looyran begManx
- Leayrane begManx
- חופית קטנהHebrew
- mali žalarCroatian
- apró partfutóHungarian
- Կտցար ճնճղուկArmenian
- VeimiltítaIcelandic
- Gambecchio comuneItalian
- ヨーロッパトウネンJapanese
- კოკორინა-ბეღურაGeorgian
- ҚұмғақшаKazakh
- 작은도요Korean
- Stynt munysCornish
- ZwergsandleeferLuxembourgish
- Mažasis begikasLithuanian
- mažasis bėgikasLithuanian
- trulītisLatvian
- agolikelyMalagasy
- мал свиркачMacedonian
- കുരുവി മണലൂതിMalayalam
- TertuxaMaltese
- Одой элсэг - ᠣᠳᠣᠢ ᠡᠯᠰᠡᠭMongolian
- छोटा टिलवाMarathi
- Burung Kedidi KerdilMalay
- TurulilloNeapolitan
- dvergsnipeNorwegian Bokmål
- कालीखुट्टे जलरङ्कNepali
- kleine strandloperDutch
- biegus malutkiPolish
- نکا سٹنٹWestern Panjabi
- pilrito-pequenoPortuguese
- Maçarico-pequenoPortuguese
- Rivarel naninRomansh
- fugaci micRomanian
- Кулик-воробейRussian
- Звычайный писочникRusyn
- Кырбас-бараахYakut
- UhcavirošNorthern Sami
- UhcacovzošNorthern Sami
- uhcačovžžošNorthern Sami
- pobrežník malýSlovak
- mali prodnikSlovenian
- Tsititsiti-nyenyaneSouthern Sotho
- gjelaci i vogëlAlbanian
- Mala sprutkaSerbian
- Мала спруткаSerbian
- småsnäppaSwedish
- Chokowe MdogoSwahili
- கொசு உள்ளான்Tamil
- นกสติ๊นท์เล็กThai
- kucuk kum kusuTurkish
- küçük kum kuşuTurkish
- Эрик бора хөкнежиTuvinian
- Побережник малийUkrainian
- BecanèlaVenetian
- Dẽ nhỏVietnamese
- 小滨鹬Chinese
- 小濱鷸Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the little stint
Other species in the same genus Calidris.
Ruff
Calidris pugnax
Sanderling
Calidris alba
Dunlin
Calidris alpina
Red knot
Calidris canutus
Temminck's stint
Calidris temminckii
Curlew sandpiper
Calidris ferruginea
CompareLittle stint vs RuffLittle stint vs SanderlingLittle stint vs DunlinLittle stint vs Red knot
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the little stint?
The little stint is a small migratory bird in the family Scolopacidae, order Charadriiformes.
How much does a little stint weigh?
An adult Little stint weighs 21.1 g, and the highest body mass reported by our sources is 28.85 g.
What does the little stint eat?
The little stint is a carnivore in the aquatic predator diet category.
Is the little stint endangered?
No. It is listed as Least Concern (LC) in the global IUCN assessment, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
How long does a little stint live?
The little stint has a lifespan of 12 years, with a highest reported value of 14.67 years.
How many eggs does the little stint lay?
The little stint has 4 eggs per clutch and 2 clutches per year, with an incubation period of 20.5 days.
When does the little stint reach sexual maturity?
The little stint reaches sexual maturity at 2 years (730 days).
Who named the little stint?
The little stint, Calidris minuta, was named by (Leisler, 1812).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Little stint (Calidris minuta). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-stint
“Little stint (Calidris minuta).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-stint.
@misc{little_stint_2026,
title = {Little stint (Calidris minuta)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-stint},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}