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Distribution
The Americas
Breeding Range
Fig. 1. Breeds from w. Alaska, n. Yukon, n. Mackenzie, s. Keewatin, Southampton I., n. Quebec, and n. Labrador south to e. Aleutians, Alaska Peninsula, se. Alaska, nw. British Columbia, (possibly n. Alberta [Semenchuk 1992]), n. Saskatchewan, ne. Manitoba, n. Ontario, e. Quebec (Anticosti and Magdalen I.), Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and (1 record) e. Cape Cod, MA (Am. Ornithol. Union 1983, Veit and Petersen 1993); Massachusetts record is from coastal island where habitat is similar to that of Canadian Maritimes, where this species breeds more regularly. Northern limit of breeding range is north-slope foothills of Brooks Range and Richardson Mtns. (Sage 1974, Salter et al. 1980). A few nonbreeders remain in summer on winter ranges, and a few migrate regularly east to w. Greenland (Am. Ornithol. Union 1983).
Winter Range
Widespread but mainly along coast from Oregon and New Jersey (but also Arkansas; Smith et al. 1991) south through Gulf of Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean to coastal n. Chile and central Brazil (Meyer de Schauensee 1966, Cogswell 1977, Am. Ornithol. Union 1983, Cramp and Simmons 1983, Sibley 1993). Occasional along coast of British Columbia as far north as Queen Charlotte Is. (Campbell et al. 1990). Small numbers winter regularly in Galapagos Is. (Harris 1973), also in central and upper Amazon River basin (Stotz et al. 1992) and savannahs of central Venezuela (Thomas 1987).
Outside The Americas
Casual vagrant in ne. Siberia, Pribilof I., and Hawaiian I. (Am. Ornithol. Union 1957).
Accidental in Iceland, Azores, Ireland, Britain, France, Germany, Finland, Austria (Cramp and Simmons 1983), Belgium (Selosse and Commission-d'Homologation 2002), and South Orkney I., Antarctica (Rootes 1988).
Historical Changes
No records.
Fossil History
Identified only from 2 late Pleistocene (Rancholabrean North American Land Mammal Age [NALMA], 400,000 years before present and younger) deposits from Natural Chimneys, VA (Guilday 1962: 92) and Talara Tar Seeps nw. Peru (Campbell 1979: 113).
Three fossil species—Calidris (Erolia) penepusilla (Brodkorb 1955: 23), C. (Ereunetes) rayi (Brodkorb 1963: 4), and C. (Calidris) pacis (Brodkorb 1955: 22)—are all from Hemphillian (NALMA, 4.5–8.0 Megannum [Ma]) of Florida. There are additional unnamed species in this genus from early Hemphillian (NALMA, 9.0 Ma) of Florida (Becker 1987: 165) and latest Hemphillian (NALMA, 5.5 Ma) of Arizona (Bickert 1990: 51–52).
Nebel, Silke and John M. Cooper. 2008. Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/115
