FIRST RECORD OF THE LONG-TOED STINT IN CALIFORNIA

MICHAEL A. PATTEN, P.O. Box 8561, Riverside,California 92515-8561 BRIAN E. DANIELS, 3471 Lama, LongBeach, California 90808

On 29 August 1988 we, along with DouglasR. Willick and Kurt Radamaker,identified a juvenileLong-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta)at the sewageponds in Salinas,Monterey County, California. At about1230 PDT, Danielsnoticed an unfamiliarsmall Calidris sandpipersitting at the edge of one of the large rock-linedsewage ponds with some Least(C. minutilla) and WesternSandpipers (C. mauri); he and Willickwatched it for about 20 minutes before Patten and Radamaker arrived. The weather was clear and mild with a slightbreeze, so observationconditions were excellent.We studiedthe bird throughbinoculars and telescopesfor the remainder of the afternoon at distances as close as 20 feet. The followingdescription isbased on ourfield notes, on thoseof various observerswho sent details to the California Bird Records Committee (CBRC),and on photographs.

Our bird was a smallCalidris slightlylarger than a LeastSandpiper. It was similar in shapeto a Least,but had a longerneck, longerlegs (in particular,longer tibiae), and a shorter,straighter bill (about75% as long as the head).The crownsloped to a high point at the rear, unlike a Least's.The middletoe seemedto be as long as the tarsusand was clearlylonger than the bill. The legsand feet were strawyellow, a bit brighterthan a Least's.The billwas blackish, except for a pale baseto the mandible. In flight, the toes extendedbeyond the tip of the tail. There was a very thin whitish trailingedge to the greatersecondary coverts, but this did not createan obviouswing stripe.The tertialswere long and concealedthe foldedprimaries. The crownwas black with narrowbright rufous streaks that were more prominent posteriorly.The bird had a cappedappearance resulting from a distinctseparation betweenthe crown and the brownish-graynape and bold white supercilium.The napewas finely streaked with black.The darkcrown ran downthrough the forehead, meetingthe bill and a dark trans-ocularline. This line dippeddownward slightly beforethe eye, forminga bulbouswhite loral spot.Thin buffy-whitelateral crown stripeswere very distinct,forming a splitsupercilium. The superciliumwas whitish and flaredslightly behind the eye beforestopping abruptly at the nape; it seemed somewhatbroader than a LeastSandpiper's and was cleanerwhite beforethe eye anddirtier (a bit streaked)behind the eye. The facewas mostly white with a uniform dullbrownish-gray ear patchthat wasfinely streaked with black;a tingeof chestnut wasvisible on the posterioredge of the cheek.The chinand throatwere cleanwhite. The breastwas very pale buff or whitishat the center,gradually becoming more buffy towardthe sides.The breastwas streakedwith dusky,very finelyat the centerand more heavilytoward the sides.The undertailcoverts and bellywere white. The blackishmantle feathers were thinly edgedin rufous,creating a pattern of rufousand blackstripes. The blackishscapulars and tertialswere edgedin bright rufous,with the edgeson the outermosttertial dullerthan thoseof the inners.The blackishmedian and lesser coverts were edged with bullywhite, contrasting slightly withthe palechestnut edgings on the greatercoverts. The fringesof the greaterwing covertsand scapularswere brokenat the tip by a blackshaft streak. The scapulars and wing covertsof thisbird were longerand more pointedthan thoseof a juvenile LeastSandpiper, which are shorterand more diamond-shaped.Buffy-white stripes Western Birds 22:131-138, 1991 131 LONG-TOED STINT IN CALIFORNIA on the sidesof the mantle formed a prominent "V" on the back. The tail pattern was like that of a Least. The flight call, heard severaltimes, was a mellow, rolling "chrrrup"or "prrrt," lower pitchedthan that of a Least Sandpiper.The bird fed by walkingjaqana-like on floatingvegetation and pickinginsects from the surface.It had a strangetumor-like growthon the rightcheek that slightlyraised the feathersaway from the face. The bird was last reliablyreported on 2 September 1988. Additional photographswere publishedin American Birds 42:1226 and 43:27 and by Wilds(1988). The record,the first for Californiaand only the third for North Americaoutside of Alaska,was unanimously accepted by the CBRC on the firstround (McCaskie and Pylein manuscript)and is now on file, with over 20 color photographs,at the Western Foundationof Vertebrate Zoology, Los Angeles.

Figure 1. Long-toedStint, Salinassewage ponds, 31 August 1988. The extremely long toesand pale baseto the mandibleare visiblein this photograph.In particular, note the whitishedges of the lesserand mediancoverts versus the brightrufous edges of the scapulars. Photo by Lawrence Sansone 132 LONG-TOED STINT IN CALIFORNIA

DISTRIBUTIONAL SUMMARY

The Long-toedStint nests in disjunctpopulations in the forestedareas of Siberia from the River Ob' east to the Chukotski Peninsula. the Com- manderIslands, the northernKurile Islands.and (probably)the Kamchatka Peninsula(Cramp and Simmons 1983, A.O.U. 1983, Flint et al. 1984). Displayflights and similarbehavior have prompted speculation that the bird may occasionallynest in Alaska(Roberson 1980, Balch 1988, Armstrong 1990). The specieswinters from the Philippines,Formosa, southeastern China, and easternIndia southto Ceylon through Indonesiato southern Australia(A.O.U. 1983, Cramp and Simmons1983, Blakerset al. 1984). A few may alsowinter regularly in easternAfrica, becausesmall numbers passthrough the MiddleEast (Hayman et al. 1986, Hollom et al. 1988). Long-toedStints have occurredthree timesas vagrantsin Europe:once in Sweden, 4 October-5 November 1977 (Petterssonet al. 1978), once in Britain, 28 August-1 September1982 (Rogerset al. 1985). and againin Britain,6-7 September1990 (Nightingaleand McGeehan1990); eachwas a juvenile.There are at leastnine records for Africa(Urban et al. 1986) and for ChristmasIsland and the Seycheilesin the IndianOcean (Haymanet ai.

Figure 2. Long-toed Stint, Salinas sewage ponds, 29 August 1988. Here the combinationof the darkforehead (extending down to the bill),the bulbouswhite !oral spot,the darkcomma-shaped !oral stripe, and the boldwhite supercilium are evident. Note the bulgeof a presumedtumor on the lower cheek. Photo by Peter La Tourrette 133 LONG-TOED STINT IN CALIFORNIA

1986). Also, a juvenilewas collected26 August1967 on MidwayAtoll, Hawaiian Islands(Clapp 1968). In NorthAmerica, Long-toed Stints occur regularly in the outerAleutian Islands(east to Adak) and casuallyto the Pribilof Islands,St. Lawrence Island,and westernmainland Alaska (A.O.U. 1983). As manyas 40 were on ShemyaIsland 16 May 1976 (Roberson1980). Most recordsfrom this regionare from spring(mid-May to earlyJune) and fall (lateJuly to mid- September),but the specieshas been recordedin summer(Armstrong 1990). The Long-toed Stint's occurrencein Alaska coincideswith the knownspring and fall migrationtiming of the species(Cramp and Simmons 1983). The only previousrecords for continentalNorth Americaoutside of Alaska(see DeSante and Pyle 1986) are twobirds reported from Oregon: a juvenileat the southjetty of the ColumbiaRiver 2-6 September1981 (Gilliganet al. 1987) andan adultin alternateplumage there 17 July1983 (Schmidt1989). An earlier report from Oregon and one from British Columbia are generally regarded as misidentifiedLeast Sandpipers (Roberson1980, A.O.U. 1983, Godfrey 1986).

Figure3. Long-toedStint, Salinas sewage ponds, 29 August1988. Thisangle clearly showsthe boldmantle stripes and the sharpcontrast between the crownand the nape. Photo by Peter La Tourterre 134 LONG-TOED STINT IN CALIFORNIA

IDENTIFICATION SUMMARY

Both the Long-toedStint and the Least Sandpiperare very small with medium-longyellowish legs (but see Carey 1987) and medium-longblack billsthat are slightlydecurved and pointedat the tip. They are verysimilar to one another and field separationcan be difficult.Consistent differences in shape, bare-partcoloration, measurements, and vocalizationsare given in standardreferences such as Prater et al. (1977), Grant and Jonsson(1984), Hayman et al. (1986), and reit and Jonsson(1987). The Long-toedStint and Least Sandpiper are much more similar in plumagethan they are in shape. In juvenalplumage, each is characterized by whitishunderparts with darkstreaking at the sidesof the breast,a rufous crown, a white throat and supercilium,grayish ear coverts,largely dark- centered feathers with rufous edgings on the upperparts, and whitish mantle stripes.However, subtledifferences can be found in each of the characters mentioned here. Much has been said about the extent of streakingon the underpartsand whether or not it crossesthrough the centerof the breast.According to severalsources (such as Wallace1980), a typical Least shows a complete breast band of streaks on a buff wash whereasa typicalLong-toed shows no streakingat the centerof the breast and the groundcolor is whiter. Nevertheless,much overlapexists and this

Figure4. Long-toedStint, Salinassewage ponds, 29 August1988. Note how the streakingfades toward the center of thebreast and extends down the flanks. A fairly distinctlateral crown stripe is apparentat thisangle. Photo by Peter La Tourterre 135 LONG-TOED STINT IN CALIFORNIA charactercannot be usedwith completeconfidence (Wilds 1988, Alstr6m andOlsson 1989). A keydifference exists in the wingcoverts: on the Least, thewing coverts are edged with warm buff or rufous;on theLong-toed, the edgingsare white or whitish-grayand brokenat the tip. Thus, contrast betweenthe wing coverts and the scapularsissignificant on theLong-toed, whereaslittle or no contrastis presenton the Least.The rufousfringe on the scapularfeathers of the Long-toedis brokenby blackat the tip but completelyencircles the tip on the Least. The patternon the face and head providessome of the best cluesto specificidentification. The superciliumof the Long-toedis usuallywhiter, especiallyabove and in frontof theeye. Often, the superciliumof theLong- toed extendspast the auricularsto the back of the head, thus creatinga morecapped effect. However, the Leastcan show a superciliumnearly this long and the Long-toedcan showone muchshorter, so thismark should not be reliedupon in the field.On Long-toed,the dark 1oralline appearsto be split, as if formed by two spotsthat barely meet (Wilds 1988, Alstr6m and Olsson1989). The gap at the centerforms a comma-shapedloral line, producinga bulbouswhite "drop"between the eye and the bill. This effect is further accentuatedby the dark foreheadof Long-toed,which extends down from the crown to meet the base of the culmen and to connect with the 1oralstripe. The Leasthas a thickerloral line that showsno signof being split.Also, the anteriorportion of the superciliausually meet over the bill, creatinga white area on the foreheadat the base of the culmen.Bold whitishlateral crown stripes, forming a splitsupercilium, are often present on juvenileLong-toed Stint but usuallyabsent or faint on the LeastSand- piper (Alstr6mand Olsson 1989). The posterioredge of the auricularis usuallywhiter and lesswell definedon the Long-toedand the nape of a Long-toedis typicallygray, unlikethe fadedbuff of a Least.The nape color contributesto the more cappedappearance of juvenileLong-toed Stint. In alternateplumage, the superciliumis not nearlyas bold as in juveniles and the white area beforethe eye is lessclearly defined. A splitsupercilium is frequentin springLong-toed, but is also rarely presentin springLeast. The 1oralstripe tends to be widerin alternate-plumagedLong-toed but is still narrower than on a typical Least. Thus, the two speciescan closely resembleone another in alternate plumage, althoughthe Long-toedStint tends to be brighteroverall and each speciesstill showsa head pattern similarto that describedfor juveniles.Basic-plumaged birds of both species are brownish-grayabove, with the Long-toedslightly darker. The patternof the mantle feathers is distinctive. These feathers are black-centered and widelyedged with brownishin the Long-toed.In the Least,the feathersare mostlybrownish-gray with black shaftsthat blend diffuselyinto the sur- roundingfeathers. Also, the differencesin facialpattern are stillevident.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thankthe manyobservers that suppliedthe CBRC with writtendocumentation and photographsof thisbird. We especiallythank Joseph Morlan and Jon L. Dunn for drawingour attentionto key featuresof juvenileLong-toed Stints of whichwe were previouslyunaware. We alsoare very gratefulto Tim Manolisfor providingthe sketchand to Peter La Tourretteand LawrenceSansone for providingthe photo- 136 LONG-TOED STINT IN CALIFORNIA graphs.Robert L. Pylesupplied information concerning the MidwayAtoll record. RichardA. Erickson,Joseph Morlan, Don Roberson,Philip Unitt, and RichardR. Veit reada draft of thispaper and offeredmany valuable comments.

LITERATURE CITED

Alstr6m, P. and Olsson, U. 1989. The identificationof juvenile Red-neckedand Long-toedStints. Br. Birds82:360-372. AmericanOrnithologists' Union. 1983. Check-Listof North AmericanBirds. 6th ed. A.O.U., Washington,D.C. Armstrong,R. H. 1990. A Guideto the Birdsof Alaska.Alaska Northwest Books, Anchorage. Balch, L. 1988. Curlingup with a good (bird)book. Birding20:290-303. Blakers,M., Davies,S. J. J. F., and Reilly,P. N. 1984. The Atlasof AustralianBirds. MelbourneUniv. Press,Melbourne. Carey, G. J. 1987. Long-toedStint with dark legs.Br. Birds80:242. Clapp, R. B. 1968. Three unusualshorebirds from MidwayAtoll, PacificOcean. 'Elepaio 28:76-77. Cramp,S., andSimmons, K. E. L. (eds.).1983. The Birdsof the WesternPalearctic, vol. III. Oxford Univ. Press,Oxford, England. DeSante,D., and Pyle, P. 1986. DistributionalChecklist of North AmericanBirds, vol. I. ArtemisiaPress, Lee Vining, CA. Flint, V. E., Boehme, R. L., Kostin, Y. V., and Kuznetsov,A. A. 1984. A Field Guide to Birds of the U.S.S.R. Princeton Univ. Press,Princeton, N.J. Gilligan,J., Schmidt,O., Nehls,H., and Irons,D. 1987. Firstrecord of Long-toed Stint in Oregon. W. Birds 18:126-128. Godfrey,W. E. 1986. The Birdsof Canada.Natl. Mus. Canada,Ottawa. Grant, P. J., and Jonsson,L. 1984. Identificationof stintsand peeps. Br. Birds 77:293-315. Hayman,P., Marchant,J., and Prater,T. 1986. Shorebirds:An IdentificationGuide to Wadersof the World. HoughtonMifflin, Boston. Hollom, P. A.D., Porter, R. F., Christensen,S., and Willis, I. 1988. Birds of the Middle East and North Africa. Buteo Books, Vermillion, S.D. Nightingale,B., and McGeehan,A. 1990. Recentreports. Br. Birds83:438. Pettersson,J., •sterberg, J. and Kjell&n,N. 1978. L•ngt•snSppaCalidris subrninutafunnen vid Ottenby•n ny art f6r Europa [Long-toedStint at Ottenby--a speciesnew to Europe].V•r F•gelv•irld37:333-338. Prater,A. J., Marchant,J. H., and Vuorinen,J. 1977. Guideto the Identificationand Ageing of Holarctic Waders. Field Guide 17, Br. Trust for Ornithol., Tring, England. Roberson,D. 1980. Rare Birds of the West Coast. WoodcockPubl., PacificGrove, CA. Rogers,M. J., and the RaritiesCommittee with commentsfrom A. R. Dean and K. E. Vinicombe. 1985. Report on rare birds in Great Britain in 1984. Br. Birds 78:529-589. Schmidt,O. (ed.). 1989. Rare Birdsof Oregon. Ore. FieldOrnithol. Spec. Publ. 5. 137 LONG-TOED STINT IN CALIFORNIA

Urban, E. K., Fry, C. H. and Keith, S. 1986. The Birdsof Africa, vol. II. Academic Press, London. Veit, R. R., and Jonsson,L. 1987. Field identificationof smallersandpipers within the genusCalidris. Am. Birds41:212-236. Wallace,D. I. M. 1980. Fieldidentification of smallspecies in the genusCalidris, in The Frontiersof BirdIdentification (j. T. R. Sharrock,ed.), pp. 146-162. British BirdsLtd., Biggleswade,England. Wilds,C. 1988. Photo quiz. Birding20:384 and 388-390.

Accepted 14 March 1991

Long-Toed Stint Sketch by Tim Manolis

138