What is "calidrid"

n. Any wader of the genus ''Calidris''

The calidrids or typical waders are a group of Arctic-breeding, strongly migratory wading birds. These birds form huge mixed flocks on coasts and estuaries in winter. They are the typical " sandpipers", small to medium-sized, long-winged and relatively short-billed.

Their bills have sensitive tips which contain numerous Corpuscles of Herbst. This enables the birds to locate buried prey items, which they typically seek with restless running and probing.

As the common name "sandpiper" is shared by some calidrids with more distantly related birds such as the Actitis species, the term stint is preferred in Britain for the smaller species of this group.