Calidris himantopus
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The stilt sandpiper (Calidris himantopus) is a small shorebird. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek; the genus name kalidris or skalidris is a term used by Aristotle for a gray-colored waterside bird. The specific himantopus means "strap foot" or "thong foot", and also refers to the stilt.
Formerly placed in its own monotypic genus Micropalama, DNA evidence has now shown that it is deeply embedded in the genus Calidris, where its closest relative is the curlew sandpiper, and next closest to a group of four Eurasian species, red-necked stint, spoon-billed sandpiper, Temminck's stint, and long-toed stint. Within the genus Calidris the stilt sandpiper is most closely related to the curlew sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea).
The stilt sandpiper resembles the curlew sandpiper in its long bill, long neck, pale supercilium and white rump. It is readily distinguished from that species by its straighter bill (only slightly curved, not obviously so), its longer and greenish-yellow (not black) legs, and in flight, by the lack of a wingbar. It also lacks an obvious wing bar in flight. Breeding adults are distinctive, heavily barred with blackish bars on a white... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isla del Coco National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Caroni Swamp | 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago | |
| 3 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 5 | Ciénaga de Zapata | 🇨🇺 Cuba | |
| 6 | Celestún Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 7 | Palo Verde National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Padre Island National Seashore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 10 | Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 11 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 13 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 14 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 15 | Tortuguero National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 16 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 17 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | León | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Lima | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 3 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 4 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 6 | Cochabamba | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 7 | Havana | 🇨🇺 Cuba | |
| 8 | Valencia | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 9 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Stilt Sandpiper sighting in Ciénaga de Zapata on a given day, based on 49 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 126th most-seen of the 177 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and March
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Stilt Sandpiper in Ciénaga de Zapata on a given day, against under 5% in April–August and October–January, the lowest months. Those are among Ciénaga de Zapata's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain a month against 150 mm in June. September has too few records to rate.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Stilt Sandpiper sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 17
Of the 17 parks where we can rate Stilt Sandpiper sightings, Ciénaga de Zapata ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Isla del Coco National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%), Caroni Swamp (Trinidad and Tobago, about 10%) and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (United States, under 5%).
Same genus: Calidris
The closest relatives of the Stilt Sandpiper that you can see in Ciénaga de Zapata (genus Calidris, Calidris Sandpipers) are Least Sandpiper (about 20%), Dunlin (about 10%) and Red Knot (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Stilt Sandpiper is recorded against all the birds logged in Ciénaga de Zapata (49 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
