This may or may not represent a good monophyletic group, depending on the placement of the phylogenetically enigmatic curlew sandpiper ("C." ferruginea), the type species of Erolia.

[3] This bird looks similar to the widely sympatric sharp-tailed sandpiper ("C." acuminata), which is not a member of the stint clade however.

The pectoral sandpiper has a grey breast, sharply demarcated at its lower edge, which gives this species its English name; this clear dividing line is particularly conspicuous if the birds are turned towards the observer.

It is a very long-distance migrant, and about half of the species breeds in the boggy tundra of northeast Asia, the rest nesting in a range from Alaska to central Canada.

[9] Many of the birds occurring in Western Europe may be on a regular migration from Asian breeding grounds to winter in Southern Africa.

[17] The male has a courtship display which involves puffing up his breast, which has a fat sac in the breeding season to enhance his performance.

The pectoral sandpiper builds a steep-sided scrape nest with a considerable volume of lining material.