Home/Species/ Least Sandpiper

Calidris minutilla

(Vieillot, 1819)

Least Sandpiper

G5Secure Found in 57 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

Near threatenedIUCN

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102217

Element CodeABNNF11100

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVertebrate Animal

IUCNNear threatened

Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

KingdomAnimalia

PhylumCraniata

ClassAves

OrderCharadriiformes

FamilyScolopacidae

GenusCalidris

Other Common Names

Bécasseau minuscule (FR) least sandpiper (EN) Maçariquinho (PT) Playero Chichicuilote, Playero Enano (ES)

Concept Reference

American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.

Conservation Status

Rank MethodExpertise without calculation

Review Date2016-04-07

Change Date1996-11-26

Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)

Range Extent Comments

BREEDS: western Alaska and northern Yukon east through southern Keewatin and Southampton Island to northern Quebec and northern Labrador, south to southern Alaska, northwestern British Columbia, northern Saskatchewan, northeastern Manitoba, northern Ontario, eastern Quebec, Nova Scotia (Sable Island) and Newfoundland, also at Monomoy, Massachusetts (AOU 1983). NORTHERN WINTER: Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, southen Utah, New Mexico, Texas, Gulf states, and North Carolina south through Middle America, West Indies, and South America (to northern Chile, eastern Peru, Brazil); uncommon but regular in Hawaii. Nonbreeders summer in winter range, primarily in North America south to California and Gulf Coast (AOU 1983).

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Nonbreeding: wet meadows, mudflats, flooded fields, shores of pools and lakes, narrow channels, edge of salt marsh, river sandbars, sometimes sandy beaches. Nests in mossy or wet grassy tundra, in lush vegetation near pond, occasionally in drier areas with sparse vegetation or scattered bushes. In boggy site, nest usually on or inside moss hummock or plant tuft. In dry site, nest often near a plant.

Ecology

Mortality of young high at Sable Island, mostly due to herring gull predation. Adults and fledglings tend to flock assortatively in late summer (Miller 1983). Nonbreeding: usually in small groups, singly, or from late winter onward in pairs (Stiles and Skutch 1989).

Reproduction

Clutches are completed from late May tolate June. Clutch size is 4. Incubation, mostly by male (female at night), lasts about 19-22 days. Male attends young an average of about 3 weeks; female attendance averages about 1 week. Chicks fly strongly by 2 weeks (Miller 1985). Broods may amalgamate in habitat patches where families congregate after hatching (Can. J. Zool. 70:403).

Terrestrial Habitats

Grassland/herbaceousAlpineTundraSand/dune

Palustrine Habitats

TEMPORARY POOLHERBACEOUS WETLANDBog/fenRiparian

Other Nations (2)

CanadaN5B,N1N

Province	Rank	Native
British Columbia	S4B,S5M	Yes
Labrador	S3B,SUM	Yes
Northwest Territories	S5	Yes
Quebec	S4B	Yes
Island of Newfoundland	S3B,S4M	Yes
Yukon Territory	S4B	Yes
Nunavut	S5B	Yes
Prince Edward Island	S4M	Yes
Ontario	S4B,S5M	Yes
Manitoba	S4B,S5M	Yes
New Brunswick	S4M	Yes
Alberta	SUM	Yes
Nova Scotia	S1B,S4M	Yes
Saskatchewan	SUB	Yes

United StatesN5B,N5N

Province	Rank	Native
Kansas	S4N	Yes
Oregon	SNA	Yes
West Virginia	SNA	Yes
Utah	S3N	Yes
South Dakota	SNA	Yes
Mississippi	S5N	Yes
Louisiana	S5N	Yes
Arizona	S5N	Yes
Colorado	S5N	Yes
Connecticut	SNA	Yes
Maine	S4N	Yes
Missouri	SNA	Yes
Nevada	S4N	Yes
Rhode Island	SNA	Yes
New Hampshire	SNA	Yes
South Carolina	S3N	Yes
Alaska	S5B	Yes
Virginia	SNA	Yes
Florida	SNRN	Yes
Wisconsin	SNA	Yes
Pennsylvania	SNA	Yes
Massachusetts	S5N	Yes
Texas	S5	Yes
California	SNRN	Yes
Montana	SNA	Yes
Minnesota	SNRM	Yes
Illinois	SNA	Yes
Hawaii	SNA	Yes
New Mexico	S4N	Yes
Idaho	S3M	Yes
Georgia	S5	Yes
North Dakota	SNA	Yes
Michigan	SNRN	Yes
District of Columbia	S3N	Yes
Arkansas	S4N	Yes
Indiana	SNA	Yes
North Carolina	S3N	Yes
Wyoming	S4N	Yes
New Jersey	S4N	Yes
Delaware	SNA	Yes
New York	SNRN	Yes
Oklahoma	SNRN	Yes
Vermont	SNA	Yes
Ohio	SNA	Yes
Tennessee	S5N	Yes
Kentucky	SNA	Yes
Navajo Nation	S2M	Yes
Nebraska	SNRN	Yes
Maryland	SNA	Yes
Iowa	S4N	Yes
Alabama	S5N	Yes
Washington	S4N	Yes

Threat Assessments

Threat	Scope	Severity	Timing
11 - Climate change & severe weather	Pervasive (71-100%)	Unknown	Low (long-term)
11.1 - Habitat shifting & alteration	Pervasive (71-100%)	Unknown	Low (long-term)

Roadless Areas (57)

Alaska (30)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bering Lake	Chugach National Forest	965,076
Boston Bar	Chugach National Forest	53,617
Chichagof	Tongass National Forest	555,858
Chilkat-West Lynn Canal	Tongass National Forest	199,772
Chugach-12	Chugach National Forest	8,116
Chugach-13	Chugach National Forest	13,337
College Fiord	Chugach National Forest	1,130,818
Copper River Wetlands	Chugach National Forest	85,972
Douglas Island	Tongass National Forest	28,065
Fidalgo-Gravina	Chugach National Forest	257,968
Hoonah Sound	Tongass National Forest	79,764
Hyder	Tongass National Forest	121,723
Juneau Urban	Tongass National Forest	101,581
Juneau-Skagway Icefield	Tongass National Forest	1,187,268
Keku	Tongass National Forest	10,869
Madan	Tongass National Forest	68,553
Middle Kruzof	Tongass National Forest	14,724
North Baranof	Tongass National Forest	314,089
North Kruzof	Tongass National Forest	33,146
North Revilla	Tongass National Forest	215,430
North Wrangell	Tongass National Forest	8,091
Port Alexander	Tongass National Forest	120,681
Redoubt	Tongass National Forest	68,347
Revilla	Tongass National Forest	29,298
Sheridan Glacier	Chugach National Forest	224,683
Sitka Urban	Tongass National Forest	112,003
South Kruzof	Tongass National Forest	55,193
Twenty Mile	Chugach National Forest	198,775
Upper Situk	Tongass National Forest	16,789
Yakutat Forelands	Tongass National Forest	323,648

Arizona (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Goldfield	Tonto National Forest	15,257
Pinaleno	Coronado National Forest	130,920

California (5)

Area	Forest	Acres
Glass Mountain	Inyo National Forest	52,867
Log Cabin Saddlebag	Inyo National Forest	15,165
Malduce Buckhorn	Los Padres National Forest	14,177
Soldier Canyon	Inyo National Forest	40,589
Woolstaff	Sequoia National Forest	41,445

Idaho (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bear Creek	Caribou-Targhee National Forest	118,582

Michigan (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Fibre	Hiawatha National Forest	7,432

Minnesota (3)

Area	Forest	Acres
Baker - Homer - Brule Lakes	Superior National Forest	6,712
Hegman Lakes	Superior National Forest	675
Tait Lake	Superior National Forest	6,327

Montana (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bmss Ra 1485	Flathead National Forest	334,275
Cube Iron - Silcox	Lolo National Forest	36,998

Oregon (6)

Area	Forest	Acres
Hellhole	Umatilla National Forest	65,679
Hurricane Creek	Wallowa-Whitman National Forest	1,606
Mt. Bailey	Umpqua National Forest	18,401
Sherwood	Umpqua National Forest	2,449
Tahkenitch	Siuslaw National Forest	5,799
Woahink	Siuslaw National Forest	5,309

South Dakota (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Indian Creek	Buffalo Gap National Grassland	24,666

Texas (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Big Creek	National Forests in Texas	1,447

Utah (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Wellsville	Wasatch-Cache National Forest	1,717

Washington (4)

Area	Forest	Acres
Blue Slide	Wenatchee National Forest	17,505
Entiat	Wenatchee National Forest	72,617
Mt. Baker Ma	Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest	24,847
Rock Creek	Wenatchee National Forest	32,239

References (32)

American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Bent, A.C. 1927. Life histories of North American shorebirds (Part I). U.S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 142, Washington, D.C.
BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
Braun, M. J., D. W. Finch, M. B. Robbins, and B. K. Schmidt. 2000. A field checklist of the birds of Guyana. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Castro, I. and A. Phillips. 1996. A guide to the birds of the Galapagos Islands. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
Hayman, P., J. Marchant, and T. Prater. 1986. Shorebirds: an identification guide to the waders of the world. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
Hilty, S.L. and W. L. Brown. 1986. A Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA. 836 pp.
Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb. 1995. A guide to the birds of Mexico and northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
Jehl, J. R., Jr. 1973. Breeding biology and systematic relationships of the stilt sandpiper. Wilson Bulletin 85:115-147.
Johnson, S. R. and D. R. Herter. 1989. The Birds of the Beaufort Sea. BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., Anchorage, Alaska. 372 pp.
Knopf, F.L. 1996. Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus). In A. Poole and F. Gill, editors. The Birds of North America, No. 211. The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC. 16 pp.
Knopf, F.L., and J.R. Rupert. 1996. Productivity and movements of mountain plovers breeding in Colorado. Wilson Bulletin 108:28-35.
Miller, E. H. 1983. Habitat and breeding cycle of the least sandpiper (CALIDRIS MINUTILLA) on Sable Island, Nova Scotia. Can. J. Zool. 61:2880-2898.
Miller, E. H. 1985. Parental behavior in the least sandpiper (Calidris minutilla). Canadian Journal of Zoology 63(7):1593-1601
Morrison, R.I.G. 1993/1994. Shorebird population status and trends in Canada. Bird Trends (3):3-5. Canadian Wildlife Service.
Morrison, R. I. G., R. E. Gill, Jr., B. A. Harrington, S. Skagen, G. W. Page, C. L. Gratto-Trevor, and S. M. Haig. 2001. Estimates of shorebird populations in North America. Occasional Paper Number 104, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, Ottawa, ON. 64 pages.
Nol, E., and M. S. Blanken. 1999. Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus). No. 444 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, eds. The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 24pp.
Parker III, T. A., D. F. Stotz, and J. W. Fitzpatrick. 1996. Ecological and distributional databases for neotropical birds. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Pitmann, R. L. and L. T. Ballance. 2002. The changing status of marine birds breeding at San Benedicto Island, Mexico. Wilson Bulletin 114:11-19.
Poole, A. F. and F. B. Gill. 1992. The birds of North America. The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. and The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA.
Pratt, H. D., P. L. Bruner, and D. G. Berrett. 1987. A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. 409 pp. + 45 plates.
Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 511 pp.
Ridgely, R. S. 2002. Distribution maps of South American birds. Unpublished.
Ridgely, R. S. and J. A. Gwynne, Jr. 1989. A Guide to the Birds of Panama. 2nd edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA.
Robert, M., R. McNeil, and A. Leduc. 1989. Conditions and significance of night feeding in shorebirds and other water birds in a tropical lagoon. Auk 106:94-101.
Rubega, M. A., D. Schamel, and D. M. Tracy. 2000. Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus). No. 538 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors, The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 28pp.
Sibley, D. A. 2000a. The Sibley guide to birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
Stiles, F. G. and A. F. Skutch. 1989. A guide to the birds of Costa Rica. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, USA. 511 pp.
Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
Zook, J. L. 2002. Distribution maps of the birds of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Unpublished.

Calidris minutilla

Habitat

Ecology

Reproduction

—