Red Knot

Calidris canutus Order: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)
Red Knot Portrait
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General

Red Knot: Medium-sized sandpiper with black, brown and gray scaled upperparts, red-brown face, neck, breast and sides, and white lower belly. Wings show white bars in flight. Sexes are similar. Winter adult has pale gray upperparts and lightly spotted white underparts. Juvenile is similar to winter adult but has more distinctly scaled upperparts.

Range and Habitat

Red Knot: Breeds on islands in the arctic regions of Canada. Spends winters along Pacific and Atlantic coasts from California and Massachusetts south to South America; also found in Europe and Asia. Nests on tundra; found on tidal flats, rocky shores, and beaches during migration and winter.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"quer-wer", "knut"

Interesting Facts

 The Red Knot was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Tringa canutus.

 It is estimated that during migration, as much as 90% of the total population of this bird can be found in Delaware Bay, feeing on the eggs of spawning horseshoe crabs.

 It does not regurgitate undigested hard parts of prey, as do many species of birds. Instead it excretes the hard parts in the feces.

 A group of knots are collectively known as a "cluster", "fling", and "tangle" of knots.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Red Knot

Related Birds

Sanderling
Willet
Dunlin
Stilt Sandpiper
Rock Sandpiper
Curlew Sandpiper
Ruddy Turnstone
Surfbird
Great Knot
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Family Sandpiper (Scolopacidae)_blue
Species Calidris canutus
Length10 - 11 Inches
Wingspan20 Inches

Red Knot

Red Knot: Medium-sized sandpiper with black, brown and gray scaled upperparts, red-brown face, neck, breast and sides, and white lower belly. Wings show white bars in flight. Bill is black and slightly curved. Eats insects, larvae, mollusks and crabs. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.

● Song: "quer-wer", "knut"

● Foraging & Feeding: Red Knot: Feeds on marine and freshwater invertebrates such as aquatic insects, small mollusks, and various kinds of worms; also eats seeds. Forages on the ground, probing sandy beaches with its bill.

● Breeding & nesting: Red Knot: Three to four pale olive buff eggs spotted with brown and black are laid in a ground depression lined with lichens, leaves, and moss, usually built near water. Incubation ranges from 21 to 23 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Red Knot: Curlew Sandpiper has a decurved bill and white rump. Sanderling is smaller and has black spots on breast and a bold white wing stripe.

Flight Pattern

Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Red Knot Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Red Knot: Breeds on islands in the arctic regions of Canada. Spends winters along Pacific and Atlantic coasts from California and Massachusetts south to South America; also found in Europe and Asia. Nests on tundra; found on tidal flats, rocky shores, and beaches during migration and winter.
BreedingMonogamous, Gregarious.
PopulationUncommon to fairly common
MigrationMigratory
Weight4.4 Ounces