Temminck's Stint (Calidris temminckii) is a tiny, understated grey wader, one of Sweden's smallest, best told apart from similar species by its yellowish-brown legs and white outer tail feathers. It measures just 13–15 cm in length, has a wingspan of around 34–37 cm and weighs a mere 18–35 grams. The plumage is fairly uniform grey-brown and diffusely patterned above, without strong markings, and clean white below. When flushed, it typically springs up steeply and fluttering, almost helicopter-like, and its call — a fast, trilling, cricket-like "tirrrr" — often gives it away before it is seen.
The species breeds thinly on bogs in the Swedish mountain range, with a national population usually put at 1,000–3,000 pairs, and unlike most other small Calidris sandpipers it rarely gathers in large flocks, preferring to rest alone or in small numbers at inland pools rather than on open shores. Its nests are shallow scrapes on tussocks in wet willow and tundra vegetation, where the female typically lays four eggs; the species has an unusual mating system in which a single female may lay in more than one nest, with male and female each incubating a separate clutch of their own. Feeding is done with quick pecking movements on wet, muddy ground, taking insects, their larvae and other small invertebrates. Breeding birds are best looked for on mountain bogs in June and July, while on passage — chiefly July to September — Temminck's Stints turn up at pond edges, muddy bay margins and sewage treatment ponds across the country, almost always as single birds rather than in flocks. The global population is considered stable and of least conservation concern.
Read about this species in Swedish →