Little Stint - Calidris minuta

The Little Stint is a tiny wading bird, smaller than a Dunlin, with a short straight fine black bill and medium-length black legs. It is brownish-grey above (grey in winter) and it is very white underneath. Autumn birds have two pale stripes or 'braces' down the back, which Dunlin lack.

Simialr to Dunlin which is slightly larger overall and has a slightly larger bill.

The best place to see them is in suitable habitat on the east and west coast of the UK in autumn.

Mainly Aug-Sept; some birds late-Apr-early June.

Feeds mainly on insects but also on crustaceans and molluscs.

It does not breed in the UK, but is a passage migrant, with most birds being juveniles seen in autumn. It is much scarcer in spring, when small numbers of adults are seen, and a very few birds spend the winter here, most migrating to Africa.

Rare in Leicestershire and Rutland.