Calidris minutilla

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Physical Description

Habitat

Found in marshes, at the edge of ponds , and along estuaries.

Vegetation: freshwater marshes, saltwater and brackish marshes, freshwater lakes and ponds • Maximum Elevation: 2,200 meters • Sensitivity to Disturbance: Medium

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 3,827 meters (0 to 12,556 feet).[1]

Ecology: List of Habitats :

•     1     Forest   
  
•     1.1     Forest - Boreal   
  
•     3     Shrubland   
  
•     3.3     Shrubland - Boreal   
  
•     4     Grassland   
  
•     4.1     Grassland - Tundra   
  
•     4.6     Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded   
  
•     5     Wetlands (inland)   
  
•     5.1     Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls )   
  
•     5.4     Wetlands (inland) - Bogs , Marshes, Swamps , Fens , Peatlands   
  
•     5.5     Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)   
  
•     5.7     Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha)   
  
•     5.10     Wetlands (inland) - Tundra Wetlands (incl. pools and temporary waters from snowmelt)   
  
•     9     Marine Neritic   
  
•     9.10     Marine Neritic - Estuaries   
  
•     12     Marine Intertidal   
  
•     12.4     Marine Intertidal - Mud Flats and Salt Flats   
  
•     12.5     Marine Intertidal - Salt Marshes (Emergent Grasses)   
  
•     13     Marine Coastal/Supratidal   
  
•     13.4     Marine Coastal/Supratidal - Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes   
  
•     13.5     Marine Coastal/Supratidal - Coastal Freshwater Lakes   
[more info]

Biology

Diet

Primarily aquatic invertebrates , with some plant matter.

Reproduction

• Clutch Size: 4
• Length of Incubation : 19-23 days
• Number of Broods: 1

Migration

Migratory

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Calidris minutilla (Vieillot, 1819)

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001

Similar Species

Semipalmated Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper The Least Sandpiper is one of a group of very similar small shorebirds called "peeps" but the only common one with yellow legs, a brown plumage, and a thin, slightly decurved bill. The rare Long-toed Stint is very similar (see Jonsson and Grant, 1984). The Pectoral Sandpiper is also brown with yellow legs but is larger with a crisp, squared-off division between the brown breast and white belly.

Members of the genus Calidris

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 32 species and subspecies in this genus:

C. acuminata (Siberian Pectoral Sandpiper) · C. alba (Beach Plover) · C. alba alba (Beach Plover) · C. alpina (Black-Bellied Sandpiper) · C. alpina alpina (Dunlin) · C. alpina arctica (Dunlin) · C. alpina pacifica (Dunlin) · C. alpina schinzii (Dunlin) · C. bairdii (BairdÌs Sandpiper) · C. canutus (Red-Breasted Sandpiper) · C. canutus canutus (Red Knot) · C. canutus rufa (Red Knot) · C. ferruginea (Curlew Sandpiper) · C. feruginea (Curlew Sandpiper) · C. fuscicollis (White-Rumped Sandpiper) · C. himantopus (Stilt Sandpiper) · C. maritima (Winter Rock-Bird) · C. maritima maritima (Winter Rock-Bird) · C. mauri (Western Semipalmated Sandpiper) · C. melanotos (Pectoral Sandpiper) · C. minuta (Little Stint) · C. minutilla (Least Or Sandpiper) · C. ptilocnemis (Commander Sandpiper) · C. ptilocnemis couesi (Rock Sandpiper) · C. ptilocnemis ptilocnemis (Pribilof Rock Sandpiper) · C. ptilocnemis quarta (Rock Sandpiper) · C. ptilocnemis tschuktschorum (Rock Sandpiper) · C. pusilla (Semi-Palmated Sandpiper) · C. ruficollis (Rufous-Necked Sandpiper) · C. subminuta (Long-Toes Stint) · C. temminckii (TemminckÌs Stint) · C. tenuirostris (Eastern Asiatic Knot)

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Further Reading

• A Directory of Neotropical Wetlands. IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre url p. 175, p. 217, p. 246, p. 249, p. 284, p. 287, p. 319, p. 321, p. 326, p. 389, p. 410, p. 411, p. 417, p. 449, p. 450, p. 452, p. 459, p. 473, p. 526, p. 540, p. 541, p. 555, p. 563, p. 566, p. 83, p. 87.
• A checklist of the vertebrate animals of Kansas / George D. Potts, Joseph T. Collins. [Lawrence, Kan.]: Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, 1991. url p. 10.
• An ecological characterization of Coastal Maine (north and east of Cape Elizabeth) / Stewart I. Fefer and Patricia S. Schettig: principal investigators. Newton Corner, Mass.: Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northeast Region, 1980. url p. 5.
• Beached marine birds and mammals of the North American West Coast: a manual for their census and identification / by David G. Ainley. .. [et al.] Pt. Reyes Bird Observatory; with drawings by Helen C. Strong; performed for National Coastal Ecosystems Team, Office of Biological Services, Fish and Wildlife Service [Washington, D.C.]: For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., [1980] url p. 137, p. 191.
• Birds in Kansas / Max C. Thompson & Charles Ely. 1 Lawrence, Kan.: University of Kansas, Museum of Natural History: c1989- url p. 248, p. xii.
• Bulletin / Peabody Museum of Natural History. 1955 New Haven: Peabody Museum of Natural History, url p. 103.
• California fish and game. [San Francisco, etc.]: State of California, Resources Agency, Dept. of Fish and Game. url p. 123, p. 253, p. 94.
• Canada's missing dimension: science and history in the Canadian Arctic Islands / Ottawa: Canadian Museum of Nature, 1990. url p. 520, p. 839.
• Check-list of North American birds: the species of birds of North America from the Arctic through Panama, including the West Indies and Hawaiian Islands / prepared by the Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the American Orni Lawrence, Kan.: American Ornithologists' Union, 1983. url p. 195, p. 196.
• Directory of Wetlands of International Importance. IUCN url p. 115, p. 117, p. 127, p. 130, p. 745, p. 83.
• Final environmental impact statement: proposed estuarine sanctuary grant award to the state of New York for a Hudson River estuarine sanctuary / Albany, N.Y.: The Department, [1982] url p. 57.
• Illinois River Bluffs area assessment / Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Scientific Research and Analysis, [and the] State Geological Survey Division. Springfield, Ill.: Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources, 1998- url p. 74.
• Memoirs of the San Diego Society of Natural History. 13 1984 San Diego, Calif.: The Society, 1931-1989. url p. 249, p. 49, p. 7, p. 79.
• North American fauna. Washington: Fish and Wildlife Service; for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U. S. Govt. Print. Off. url p. 35, p. 77.
• Notes on a collection of birds from northeastern Colombia. 44 1961 Chicago, Chicago Natural History Museum, 1961. url p. 28.
• Oceanus. Woods Hole, Mass., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution url p. 40.
• Ornithological gazetteer of Uruguay / Raymond A. Paynter, Jr. Cambridge, Mass.: Obtainable from Bird Dept., Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 1994. url p. 106.
• P.D. Skaar's Montana bird distribution / revised by the Montana Bird Distribution Committee. [Helena, MT]:Montana Natural Heritage Program, 1996 url p. 45.
• Patterns in biodiversity in Arctic birds. WCMC Biodiversity Bulletin No. 3 WCMC url p. 4.
• Postilla. 1987 New Haven, Conn.: Peabody Museum of Natural History, [1950?]-c2004. url p. 4.
• Potential wildlife-highway interactions at select mile-markers along Montana Department of Transportation routes an ArcView GIS analysis / Bozeman, Mont.: Fish and Wildlife Management Program, Montana State University, 2001 url .
• Proposed estuarine sanctuary grant award to the state of New York for a Hudson River estuarine sanctuary. Albany, N.Y.: New York, Dept. of Environmental Conservation, [1982] url p. 121.
• Publications in zoology = Publications en zoologie. Ottawa: National Museums of Canada, National Museum of Natural Sciences, 1970-1982. url p. 73.
• Syllogeus. Ottawa, National Museum of Natural Sciences, 1972-1995. url p. 15, p. 9.
• The Canadian field-naturalist. Ottawa, Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. url p. 116, p. 118, p. 121, p. 13, p. 183, p. 22, p. 288, p. 316, p. 375, p. 408, p. 419, p. 422, p. 471, p. 490, p. 503, p. 526, p. 601, p. 678.
• The Great Basin naturalist. 54 1994 Provo, Utah: M.L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University, 1939-1999. url p. 41, p. 517, p. 519, p. 521, p. 600, p. 731.
• The Marine Mammal Commission compendium of selected treaties, international agreements, and other relevant documents on marine resources, wildlife, and the environment / compiled by Richard L. Wallace. Washington, D.C.: The Commission; 1994 url p. 3128.
• The ecology of Tijuana Estuary, California: a national estuarine research reserve / by Joy B. Zedler, Christopher S. Nordby and Barbara E. Kus. [Washington, D.C.: NOAA Office of Coastal Resource Management, Sanctuaries and Reserves Division], 1992. url p. 68.
• Washington State Coastal Zone Management Program amendment no. 3: approval of the Grays Harbor estuary management plan: program draft environmental impact statement. [Olympia, Wash.?]: Grays Harbor Regional Planning Commission; 1983. url p. 5.

Notes

Contributors

• BirdLife International 2004. Calidris minutilla. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org . Downloaded on 21 October 2006.
• BirdLife International 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
• BirdLife International 2009. Calidris minutilla. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 31January2012.
• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 and ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 12, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 26 providers.
• Hines, J. E., Gregory Gough, J. R. Sauer, et al. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
• IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.
• Parker III, T.A., D.F. Stotz, and J.W. Fitzpatrick, and quot;Ecological and Distributional Databases for Neotropical Birds, and quot; in Neotropical Birds: Ecology and Conservation, by D.F. Stotz, T.A. Parker III, J.W. Fitzpatrick, and D.K. Moskovits (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). ISBN 0-226-64676-9.
• Peterson, Alan P. Zoological Nomenclature Resource. Accessed June 19, 2009.
• Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.
• Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2005. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2004. Version 2005.2. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
• Sauer, J. R., S. Schwartz, and B. Hoover. 1996. The Christmas Bird Count Home Page. Version 95.1. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 12, 2008:

• Avian Knowledge Network: eBird
• Avian Knowledge Network: Great Backyard Bird Count
• Avian Knowledge Network: Project FeederWatch
• Bird Studies Canada: BC Coastal Waterbird Survey
• Bird Studies Canada: Marsh Monitoring Program - Birds
• Bird Studies Canada: Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas 2001-2005
• Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: North West Territories and Nunavut Bird Checklist, Canada
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Ontario Nest Records
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Birds (Aves)
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Royal British Columbia Museum
• Canadian Museum of Nature: Canadian Museum of Nature Bird Collection
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Bay of Fundy Species List (OBIS Canada)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: SEAMAP - marine mammals, birds and turtles
• Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University: MCZ Ornithology Collection
• Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
• National Science Museum of Korea: National Science Museum of Korea Bird
• New Brunswick Museum: NBM birds
• Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: Santa Barbara Musem of Natural History
• UCLA-Dickey Bird Collection (UCLA-Dickey): Bird specimens
• UNIBIO, IBUNAM: CNAV/Coleccion Nacional de Aves
• University of Alberta: University of Alberta Ornithology Collection
• University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ): Bird specimens

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 8156
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-176656
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 2481930
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 176656
• IUCN ID: 197022
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABNNF11100
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 7535

Footnotes

1. Mean = 47.450 meters (155.676 feet), Standard Deviation = 320.560 based on 1,804 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.