View source for Stint

{{Short description|Group of birds}}
{{Other uses}}
{{one source|date=August 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
[[File:SemipalmSandpiper23.jpg|thumb|[[Semipalmated sandpiper]]s (''"Calidris" pusilla'')]]
A '''stint''' is one of several very small [[wader]]s in the [[paraphyletic]] ''"[[Calidris]]"'' assemblage&nbsp;– often separated in ''[[Erolia]]''&nbsp;– which in [[North America]] are known as '''peeps'''. They are [[Scolopacidae|scolopacid]] waders much similar in [[ecomorphology]] to their distant relatives, the [[charadrii]]d [[Charadriidae|plovers]].

Some of these [[bird]]s are difficult to identify because of the similarity between species, and various breeding, non-breeding, juvenile, and moulting plumages. In addition, some plovers are also similarly patterned, especially in winter. With a few exceptions, stints usually have a fairly stereotypical color pattern, being brownish above and lighter&nbsp;– usually white&nbsp;– on much of the underside. They often have a lighter [[supercilium]] above brownish cheeks.

==Systematics and taxonomy==
The [[genus]] ''Calidris'' is not [[monophyletic]] in its traditional delimitations and should be restricted to the stout [[red knot]] and its allies. The genus ''Erolia'' was often used for the stints ever since it was proposed by [[Louis Pierre Vieillot]] in 1816. However, the [[type species]] of ''Erolia'' is the [[curlew sandpiper]], which is not traditionally included among the stints.

No firm consensus has been reached on the curlew sandpiper's [[phylogenetic]] status (i.e., what its closest relatives are) and hence ''Erolia'' cannot be exactly delimited at present. This notwithstanding, the stints together with a few slightly more distinct calidrids would indeed warrant separation as a distinct genus. The [[sanderling]], sometimes placed in ''Crocethia'', is among these and it may be that this genus name would apply.<ref>{{aut|Thomas, Gavin H.; Wills, Matthew A. & Székely, Tamás}} (2004): A supertree approach to shorebird phylogeny. ''[[BMC journals|BMC Evol. Biol.]]'' '''4''': 28. {{doi|10.1186/1471-2148-4-28}} {{PMID|15329156}} [https://bmcevolbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2148-4-28 PDF fulltext] [https://bmcevolbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2148-4-28#Declarations Supplementary Material]</ref>

[[File:Temminck's Stint AMSM6404 TSTI.jpg|thumb|250 px| Temminck's Stint at [[Jamnagar]], [[India]]]]
[[File:AMSM4734 LSTI.jpg|thumb|250 px|Little Stint at [[Jamnagar]], [[India]]]]
The species usually considered stints/peeps are:
* [[Semipalmated sandpiper]], ''Calidris pusilla'' or ''Erolia pusilla''
* [[Western sandpiper]], ''Calidris mauri'' or ''Erolia mauri''
* [[Red-necked stint]], ''Calidris ruficollis'' or ''Erolia ruficollis''
* [[Little stint]], ''Calidris minuta'' or ''Erolia minuta''
* [[Temminck's stint]], ''Calidris temminckii'' or ''Erolia temminckii''
* [[Long-toed stint]], ''Calidris subminuta'' or ''Erolia subminuta''
* [[Least sandpiper]], ''Calidris minutilla'' or ''Erolia minutilla''
* [[White-rumped sandpiper]], ''Calidris fuscicollis'' or ''Erolia fuscicollis''
* [[Baird's sandpiper]], ''Calidris bairdii'' or ''Erolia bairdii''

==See also==
* [[Hybridisation_in_shorebirds#Other_hybrid_scolopacids|Hybridisation in shorebirds]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Calidris]]
[[Category:Bird common names]]