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  1. Species
  2. ›
  3. Scolopacidae
  4. ›
  5. Calidris
  6. ›
  7. Long-toed Stint
Long-toed Stint
Photo · (c) Ged Tranter, some rights reserved (CC BY)

BirdUp · Species

Long-toed Stint

Calidris subminuta(Middendorff, 1853)

Updated 21 March 2026

Origin: Native
Order
CHARADRIIFORMES
Family
Scolopacidae
Genus
Calidris

At a glance

The Long-toed Stint is a small bird, about 13–16 cm long, native to Australia. It can be seen year-round.

Size
13–16 cm
Origin
Native
Best seen
Year-round
Commonness
Very common
  • Identification
  • Where
  • When
  • Behaviour
  • Gallery

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

What does a Long-toed Stint look like?

The Long-toed Stint is a small bird, about 13–16 cm long and weighing 22–32 g.

The long-toed stint is a small wader. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific subminuta is from Latin sub, "near to" and minuta, "small" from its similarity to the little stint, Calidris minuta.

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Field specs

Length
13–16 cm
Weight
22–32 g
Wingspan
26.5 cm

Measurements · avonet · CC BY 4.0

03 · When

When to look

When can you see a Long-toed Stint?

The Long-toed Stint is present across its Australian range year-round, so it can be seen in any month.

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

05 · Behaviour

Habits and haunts

What does a Long-toed Stint eat?

The Long-toed Stint feeds on seeds and fish/invertebrates, usually foraging in pairs or alone.

06 · Gallery

Plumage up close

6 photos

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02 · Where

Where to find it

Where does the Long-toed Stint live in Australia?

The Long-toed Stint is native to Australia, recorded across 40 of Australia’s bioregions, with a core range spanning subarctic to temperate bogs of central and east Palearctic.

BreedingSubarctic to temperate bogs of central and east Palearctic: disjunctly from south-west to south Chukotskiy Pen., north Kuril and Commander is. (east Russia); (perhaps) north Mongolia

Non-breedingOR, AU : inland and coastal east India and Sri Lanka, south-east Asia, Indonesian Arch., west and south-east Australia, Philippines, south-east China, Taiwan and south and south-central Japan

Distribution from BirdUp Australia community data

Legend

  • Breeding
  • Vagrant

8 regions recorded