Sandpipers · Shorebirds
Temminck's Stint
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Calidris temminckii
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Voice
Call
How to recognize it
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Sparrow-sized, elongated silhouette and short legs
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White tail edges, yellowish or greenish legs
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In summer, brownish-gray upperparts, pale brown breast with dark streaks, white belly
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In breeding display, hovers in place with rapidly fluttering wings
About the species
Brown above and white below, it has a darker wash across the breast and a plain brown head. In summer, rusty feathers brighten its back, while yellowish legs and white outer tail feathers add clear flashes of color as it moves. Its plumage grows duller in winter, with the white breast still contrasting against the brown upperparts.
At the water’s edge, it creeps steadily along pool margins, searching the soft mud. Its call is a loud “trrr”; during courtship, the male gives a softer trill while hovering in display flight. The female may lay two clutches in separate places, with the male incubating the first and she tending the second.
It breeds in wet tundra and northern taiga marshes, then migrates south for winter to wetlands in Africa, the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia. On migration and in winter, it uses freshwater pools and muddy shores, picking insects and other small invertebrates from the mud.
Where to find
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On northern settlement edges in late May and early June, listen beside sparsely grassed river and stream banks for a male's soft trill as he hovers in display flight.
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During migration or wintering, look for Temminck's Stint at freshwater pools and temporary floods, creeping steadily along muddy, lightly vegetated edges as it picks out small invertebrates.
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On muddy stretches of sheltered bays, estuaries, and coastal marshes — not open sandy beaches — watch the shallows for a wader that may go belly-deep and snatch prey from the surface.
