Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Long-toed Stint

Calidris subminuta (Middendorff, 1853)

13–16 cmLength31 cmWingspan30 gWeight

This small sandpiper has long, slender toes, yellow legs and feet, and a distinctive stance.

Busiest months: April · Most records: China, Thailand, Australia

Looks like Red-necked Stint

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Legs and feet yellow; toes long and slender
  2. Crown rufous; pale stripe above the eye
  3. Upperparts rufous with dark feather centers in the breeding season
  4. Bill short, straight and dark brown

Male, female and young

Juvenile has vivid reddish-brown upperpart markings and white stripes on the upper back.

Similar species

Red-necked Stint
Red-necked Stint

May be confused on the ground; Long-toed Stint is more slender and slightly smaller.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: April · Most records: China, Thailand, Australia

Long-toed Stint has been recorded at 607 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 30 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Pak Thale Nature ReserveThailand1,350 records
  2. Lanyang River Estuary IBA – XinnanTaiwan (China)933 records
  3. Lizejian IBA – 52-Jia WetlandTaiwan (China)789 records
More places
  1. Beimen IBA – ShanliaowanTaiwan (China)706 records
  2. Khlong Tamru – 1 Alley salt pansThailand665 records
  3. Laem Phak Bia – salt pans E of Hwy. 4028Thailand485 records
  4. Mai Po Nature ReserveHong Kong (China)473 records
  5. Nanhui DongtanChina401 records
  6. Western Treatment Plant – T Section PondsAustralia399 records
  7. Khok Kham – Bird Center vicinityThailand380 records

Countries and regions with the most records

ChinaThailandAustraliaPhilippinesMalaysiaJapanUnited StatesIndia

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The long-toed stint (Calidris subminuta) is a small wader. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific subminuta is from Latin sub, "near to" and minuta, "small" from its similarity to the little stint, Calidris minuta.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Long-toed Stint?

The Long-toed Stint is about 13–16 cm long, with a wingspan of 31 cm and weighs around 30 g.

Where does the Long-toed Stint live?

Its breeding range: Palearctic: subarctic to temperate bogs of central, eastern Palearctic: disjunctly from southwest to southern Chukotskiy Peninsula, northern Kuril and Commander islands (eastern Russia); (perhaps) northern Mongolia. It is most often recorded in China, Thailand and Australia.

When is the best time to see the Long-toed Stint?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in April (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Long-toed Stint endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Long-toed Stint as Least Concern.

What does the Long-toed Stint eat?

Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.

What family is the Long-toed Stint in?

It belongs to the family Sandpipers, Snipes (Scolopacidae), order Charadriiformes.

At a glance

Length
13–16 cm
Wingspan
31 cm
Weight
30 g
Habitat
Wetland
Diet
Fish, shrimp & shellfish
Lifestyle
Active on the ground
Migration
Migratory
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
88 mm
Tail
36 mm
Bill
20 mm
Tarsus
22 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Palearctic: subarctic to temperate bogs of central, eastern Palearctic: disjunctly from southwest to southern Chukotskiy Peninsula, northern Kuril and Commander islands (eastern Russia); (perhaps) northern Mongolia

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Family
Sandpipers, Snipes Scolopacidae
Genus
Calidris

Other birds in the genus Calidris

Great KnotGreat KnotCalidris tenuirostrisRed KnotRed KnotCalidris canutusSurfbirdSurfbirdCalidris virgataRuffRuffCalidris pugnaxBroad-billed SandpiperBroad-billed SandpiperCalidris falcinellusSharp-tailed SandpiperSharp-tailed SandpiperCalidris acuminataStilt SandpiperStilt SandpiperCalidris himantopusCurlew SandpiperCurlew SandpiperCalidris ferrugineaTemminck's StintTemminck's StintCalidris temminckiiRed-necked StintRed-necked StintCalidris ruficollisSpoon-billed SandpiperSpoon-billed SandpiperCalidris pygmaeaBuff-breasted SandpiperBuff-breasted SandpiperCalidris subruficollis
Long-toed Stint

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/). ↗

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