Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)
About the Least Sandpiper
The least sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) is the smallest shorebird. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific minutilla is Medieval Latin for "very small". Within the genus Calidris, the least sandpiper is most closely related to the white-rumped sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis). This species has yellow-green legs and a short, thin, dark bill. Breeding adults are brown with dark brown streaks on top and white underneath. They have a light line above the eye and a dark crown. In winter, Least sandpipers are grey above. The juveniles are brightly patterned above with rufous colour and white mantle stripes.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 218 recordings for this species: 5 CC BY-NC-SA. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Related species you can hear
- Baird's SandpiperCalidris bairdiirecording
- Broad-billed SandpiperCalidris falcinellusrecording
- Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferruginearecording
- DunlinCalidris alpinarecording
- Little StintCalidris minutarecording
- Pectoral SandpiperCalidris melanotosrecording
This species has no recording here yet — these relatives do, so you can hear what the family sounds like.