lky

Would you please help identifying these stints?  Are they little stints?  The first 2 are the same bird.  All photos were taken on 1-5-2011 in Mai Po.  Thank you very much!  

kkoel

I'd agree that both birds are Little Stints from the fine bill tip and long tibia. The second bird looks like a first summer to me. =)

brendank

Seems like a good year for Little Stints. There have been many seen.

Beetle

May i know how to identify the 2nd bird as a Little Stint?

[ Last edited by Beetle at 3/05/2011 10:40 ]

ajohn

The second bird looks more like a Long-toed Stint to me - slightly browner than Little Stint, with a well-marked rufous cheek patch and crown, contrasting with paler supercilium. The head looks fairly small and perched on top of the body. Most importantly the legs look to be pale (greenish) rather than black.

As for Brendan's comment, I think this is a fairly typical year for Little Stints but the important differences from previous years are that more people are aware of the ID features, new cameras are allowing better photos and that the new boardwalk hide allows closer views of the stints in the bay.

lky

Koel, Brendan & John, thank you very much for your reply.  I'm surprised by your sharp eyes identifying the pale legs of the 2nd stint (3rd photo).  To me, the legs are sth like black ... maybe because of the mud.  

kkoel

Thanks John for correcting - do agree on a second look it's a Long-toed. Leg colour can be quite misleading sometimes!