Calidris subminuta
The Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta) is a diminutive and highly migratory shorebird, measuring 13-16 cm in length, weighing 25-37 grams, and boasting a wingspan of 28-31 cm. Its most distinctive field mark, and the source of its name, are its exceptionally long toes, particularly the hind toe, which often extend beyond the tail in flight, setting it apart from other small sandpipers. Plumage varies seasonally, with breeding adults displaying richer rufous-brown upperparts with bold black ...
This species primarily inhabits various types of freshwater wetlands, including sedge bogs, marshes, wet meadows, tundra pools, and rice fields, typically at low elevations.
Their diet consists mainly of small aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, including insects and their larvae (e.g., dipterans, beetles), small crustaceans, and occasionally mollusks and seeds, obtained by probing and gleaning from soft substrates.
Long-toed Stints are diurnal birds, actively foraging throughout the day with occasional rest periods. Their foraging strategy involves a characteristic 'sewing machine' motion, rapidly probing and gleaning small invertebrates from the surface and just beneath the mud or shallow water, often walk...
The Long-toed Stint has an extensive Palearctic breeding range, spanning from western Siberia eastward across northern Russia, to the Anadyr region and Kamchatka, and south into northern Mongolia. Following breeding, these highly migratory birds embark on a long journey south along the East Asia-...
Least Concern
- The Long-toed Stint possesses the longest toes relative to its body size among all 'peeps' or small sandpipers, a unique adaptation for walking on boggy, unstable ground. - This tiny bird undertakes one of the longest migratory journeys proportionally to its size, traveling from Arctic Siberia ...