Small. With a thin, bill, long toes and legs, and a relatively long neck. Sexes alike.
Adults: Breeding: Top of head, neck, upper back, scapulars, tertials, dark brown, edged with buff or rufous. Lower back, center of rump, uppertail coverts, dark brown. Throat, belly, undertail coverts, underwing coverts, white. Eye, brown. Eyebrow, white. Lores, ear coverts, dark. Central tail feathers, dark brown grading to almost white outer tail feathers. Wings, brown, with greater and primary coverts having narrow white tips forming a narrow wing bar. Sides of neck, breast, buff brown with narrow dark brown streaks forming a distinct breast band. Bill, black or dark horn. Legs, greenish-yellow. Non-breeding: Upperparts, dark brown with buff or pale rufous edges to feathers. Neck, greyer. Breast band, less distinct, pale browish-grey with faint streaks.
Immatures: Rufous edges to feathers of crown, upper back, scapulars, tertials. White edges to feathers on sides of back form parallel white lines down back.
Other Names (World)
Long-toed Stint, Long-toed Sandpiper, Middendorff's Stint
Family
Scolopacidae (Sandpipers, Snipes, Phalaropes)
Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China (mainland), Christmas Island, Guam (NB), Hong Kong (China), India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan (P), Laos, Malaysia, Micronesia [Federated States of] (NB), Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Northern Mariana Islands (NB), Oman, Palau (NB), Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Russia (Asian), Russia (Central Asian) (B), Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan (China) (NB), Thailand (NB), Timor-Leste (NB) (P), USA (NB), Vietnam, Yemen.
Vagrant to Bahrain, Ethiopia, Greece, Iran [Islamic Republic of], Ireland, Israel, Kenya, Maldives, Mozambique, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom.
Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta) [XC757865]
by Adria Sole from Ch'reav, Siem Reap, Cambodia (flight call)
Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta) [XC487759]
by Bram Piot from Beringovsky Coast, Anadyrsky District, Chukotskiy, Russian Federation (alarm call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. Breeds June - July in mountain tundra and taiga of Siberia.
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Nest
A depression in the ground, lined with grass.
Eggs (Guide)
Usually 4; grey-green with underlying streaks and spots of light brown and marked with larger, darker spots, mostly at the larger end; pyriform; about 31 x 23 mm.
Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla). Formally considered conspecific with Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla).
No subspecies.
Similar Species
Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii)
Similar size. Also has yellowish legs. Non-breeding with non-breeding. Generally uniform brownish grey above. Pale brownish grey breast band has no streaking. Folded wingtips are shorter than tail tip. Has white outer tail feathers. Leg are shorter.
Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis)
Similar size. Legs are black. In non-breeding plumage generally greyish brown upperparts. A grey-brown zone on sides of upper breast only (not front). Bill slightly swollen at tip.
Little Stint (Calidris minuta)
Similar size. Legs are black. In non-breeding plumage generally greyish brown upperparts. A buff-brown zone on sides of upper breast only (not front).
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet