Least sandpiper
| Least sandpiper | |
|---|---|
| Summer plumage | |
| Winter plumage | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Scolopacidae |
| Genus: | Calidris |
| Species: | C. minutilla
|
| Binomial name | |
| Calidris minutilla (Vieillot, 1819)
| |
Breeding Migration Nonbreeding Vagrant
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Erolia minutilla | |
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).