Fun Stint Bird Facts For Kids

The stint bird, also known as the little stint (Calidris minuta), is a small wader. The majority of the population of this species inhabits Arctic Europe and Arctic Asia.

It also inhabits areas of Southern Europe, Africa, Myanmar, Madagascar, the Indian subcontinent, and the Middle East. It also migrates in areas of North America to Australia occasionally during the wintering season.

These breeds belong to the family Scolopacidae. During the winter, these birds create flocks with other Calidris and change their habitats or socialize in large wetland areas or coastal dunes. There has also reportedly been a hybrid species from the breeding of the little stint and the temminckii stint in the Netherlands.

Scroll down to read about the little stint's life span, what they feed on, their habitat, and other exciting details! If you want to discover more like the stint bird, take a look at carrion crow facts and birds of paradise facts.

Stint Bird Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a stint bird?

The stint bird is a long-distance migrant bird that can be found in areas of Arctic Europe and Asia.

What class of animal does a stint bird belong to?

The little stint (Calidris minuta) belongs to the Aves class and the order Charadriiformes.

How many stint birds are there in the world?

The little stint can be found in abundance almost all over the world and there are an estimated 1.5-1.6 million individual birds according to Wetlands International,2005.

Where does a stint bird live?

The Calidris minuta can be found distributed in areas of Arctic Europe and Arctic Asia. During the migration period, stints can be found in the Mediterranean region, southern Europe, Madagascar, the Middle East, Africa, coastal Myanmar, and the Indian subcontinent.

What is a stint bird's habitat?

Stints are most likely to be found in areas that have water bodies as they don't forage in forests. Their preference of habitat consists of Arctic coastlines, Arctic tundra, grasslands, tundra wetland, wetland, salt-marshes, estuaries, freshwater lakes, mudflats, streams, and rivers.

Who does stint bird live with?

The little stint tends to stay in small or bigger groups of 20-30 and they migrate together during the winter season.

How long does a stint bird live?

The little stint can live up to almost 10 years.

How do they reproduce?

During June and July stint birds tend to breed and it has been observed that the breeding adults may conform to monogamy, polygyny, and polygamy during mating. The male and female species breeds during the breeding season with more than one clutch.

The breeding happens in areas on the map with lower altitudes like the icy tundra, Arctic tundra, and Arctic grassy islands. The nests are built to look like cup-shaped shallow depressions on open high grounds that may or may not be enclosed by vegetation.

The female stint species can contain one to five off-white oval eggs that have dark brown patches. The incubation period lasts for almost 20-25 days and the hatchlings are able to eat by themselves almost instantly and don't need assistance.

There also has been reportedly a hybrid species from the breeding of the little stint and the Temminck's stint in the Netherlands.

What is their conservation status?

According to the IUCN Red List, the conservation status of the little stint is of Least Concern as they can be found in abundance all over the world and their numbers have been increasing quite consistently.

The conservation of these species is not taken much into consideration yet as they are found in abundance and have been seen to be breeding with other species of birds as well like the Temminckii stint.

Stint Bird Fun Facts

What do stint birds look like?

The little stint is a small bird species that is almost 3.93- 5.90 in (10-15 cm) long. The adults have brown upper parts with dark brown, black, and gray-white mottling. The neck, head, and upper breast have brown lines or bands. The plumage is brown, with white underparts.

The bill is long, dark, and black and the legs and feet are long and blackish. They have dark irises and a whitish eye ring.

The breeding adult has an orangish shade to the breast, a white throat, and a strong white V on its back. In winter identifying the plumage is quite difficult. The juveniles have a much paler body hue that almost looks gray and have pale crown stripes and a pinkish breast.

How cute are they?

With their tiny movements and small stature, these birds are perceived as quite likable. They don't attack as well and bird lovers can have an affinity for these migratory birds.

How do they communicate?

The little stint tends to make a sharp 'stit' sound which helps it to communicate with flocks of other stint birds. The stint population is smaller in size and being migratory birds they move from the north to south extremes of the map and therefore they communicate through their sharp calls.

How big is a stint bird?

The length of little stint birds is around 3.93- 5.90 in (10-15 cm) in length and this makes it more than five times smaller than the Siberian crane whose length is about 45–50 in (114.3–127 cm).

How fast can a stint bird fly?

There is no estimated flight speed of these species, but the little stints are migratory birds which makes them quite able to fly faster than most birds.

During the migration period, the stints can be found all over the map from north to south, especially areas of southern Europe, the Mediterranean region, Africa, Madagascar, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, coastal Myanmar, and areas of North America to Australia occasionally.

How much does a stint bird weigh?

These bird species weigh almost 0.7-1.58 oz (20-45 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no sex-specific names assigned to the male or female stint birds.

What would you call a baby stint bird?

Baby stints are called chicks.

What do they eat?

The little stint's diet consists mainly of invertebrates like larvae and adult flies, mosquitoes, small beetles, annelids, craneflies, crustaceans like hermit crabs, ants, plant matter, and mollusks.

Are they dangerous?

These birds don't attack anyone and have no means of defending themselves with their small size. They are completely harmless and tend to stay away from bigger birds or preys in order to be safe.

Would they make a good pet?

Being a species of bird that mates with one another more than one time in a season, it would be quite difficult for the stint bird to be a good pet.

Moreover, they are migratory birds, which means they move from one region to another during different seasons and if they become pets, they won't be able to migrate every season, which can take a toll on this species.

Did you know...

The little stint is not endemic and can migrate from one end of the map to another. It flies over thousands of kilometers during different seasons in flocks and can be found in abundance. Research even shows that few birds can fly even while sleeping.

Does little stint migrate to India?

Yes, the little stint migrates from the Arctic region to India during the winter season. This species migrates from the Arctic to the tip of India covering a distance of about 11,000 km.

What is the weight of a little stint bird?

The little stint weighs about 0.7-1.58 oz (20-45 g), which makes it almost five times heavier than an Anna's hummingbird which weighs about 0.1-0.21 oz (3-6 g).

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds from our pheasant fun facts and interesting great hornbill facts pages

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable boho birds coloring pages.