least sandpiper
{{short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Least Sandpiper Foraging.png
| image_caption = Summer plumage
| image2 = Sandpiper Weckstein.jpg
| image2_caption = Winter plumage
| status = NT
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| taxon = Calidris minutilla
| authority = (Vieillot, 1819)
| synonyms =
Erolia minutilla
| range_map = Calidris minutilla map.svg
}}
The least sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) is the smallest shorebird. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-colored waterside birds. The specific minutilla is Medieval Latin for "very small".{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher=Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n84 84], 256}}
Description
File:Calidris minutilla-foraging.jpg
This species has yellow-green legs and a short, thin, dark bill. Breeding adults are brown with dark brown streaks on top and white underneath. They have a light line above the eye and a dark crown. In winter, Least sandpipers are grey above. The juveniles are brightly patterned above with rufous coloration and white mantle stripes.
This bird can be difficult to distinguish from other similar tiny shorebirds; these are known collectively as "peeps" or "stints". In particular, least sandpiper is very similar to its Asian counterpart, long-toed stint. It differs from that species in its more compact, shorter-necked appearance, shorter toes, somewhat duller colors, and stronger wingbar.
- Length: 5.1-5.9 in (13-15 cm)
- Weight: 0.7-1.1 oz (19-30 g)
- Wingspan: 10.6-11.0 in (27-28 cm)
Breeding and migration
Their breeding habitat is the northern North American continent on tundra or in bogs. They nest on the ground near water. The female lays four eggs in a shallow scrape lined with grass and moss. Both parents incubate; the female leaves before the young birds fledge and sometimes before the eggs hatch. The young birds feed themselves and are able to fly within two weeks of birth.
They migrate in flocks to the southern United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. They occur as very rare vagrants in western Europe.{{cite book|last=Harrison|first=Graham|first2=Janet|last2=Harrison|title=The New Birds of the West Midlands|publisher=West Midland Bird Club|year=2005|isbn=0-9507881-2-0|url=http://www.westmidlandbirdclub.com/NBotWM|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123234058/http://www.westmidlandbirdclub.com/bibliography/NBotWM|archive-date=23 January 2009}}
Feeding
These birds forage on mudflats, picking up food by sight, sometimes by probing. They mainly eat small crustaceans, insects, and snails.
File:20230914 least sandpipers point meadows keeney cove.webm
==References==
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
=Identification=
- Jonsson, Lars & Peter J. Grant (1984) Identification of stints and peeps British Birds 77(7):293-315
External links
{{Commons category|Calidris minutilla|Least Sandpiper}}
{{Wikispecies|Calidris minutilla}}
- [http://www.surfbirds.com/Features/coxpeeps1006/coxpeeps1006.html An online identification article covering this species and other small calidrids] at surfbirds.com
- [http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Least_Sandpiper.html Least sandpiper species account] - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20180813210340/https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i2420id.html Least sandpiper - Calidris minutilla] - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- [http://www.oiseaux.net/birds/photos/least.sandpiper.html Least sandpiper photos at Oiseaux.net]
- {{InternetBirdCollection|least-sandpiper-calidris-minutilla|Least sandpiper}}
- {{VIREO|Least+Sandpiper|Least sandpiper}}
- {{IUCN_Map|22693396/255801668|Calidris minutilla}}
{{Scolopacidae|1}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q913052}}
Category:Birds of North America
Category:Birds of Central America
Category:Birds of the Caribbean
Category:Birds of the Dominican Republic
Category:Birds of South America
Category:Birds of the United States
Category:Native birds of Alaska
Category:Least concern biota of North America
Category:Least concern biota of Mexico
Category:Least concern biota of the United States