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Red Knots are small waders. Their plumage is highly cryptic. When seen in Australia, they are usually (but not always) in eclipse plumage. During the non-breeding season they have a light-grey front, except for some grey wash and dark streaking on the breast, flanks and some dark barring on the undertail coverts. Except for light-grey eyebrows, the rest of the head is grey, with some dark-grey streaking. The back is grey, with dark-grey central lines and light-grey edge lining on the wing feathers. In-flight they show a thin wing bar. During the breeding season, those parts on the front (head, throat, chest, upper belly) that are light-grey outside the breeding season turn rust-red. Thin eyerings remain light-grey. The back and wings turn dark red-brown, with light grey edge lining. The vent and undertail coverts remain basically unchanged. The eyes have dark irises. The dark-grey bill is straight and about as long as the size of the head. The legs and feet are dark-grey. The legs are short, giving the species a "dumpy" appearance. In flight the feet do not protrude beyond the tail. Juveniles roughly resemble non-breeding adults, but they have a spotted (rather than streaked) front with a buff wash and the back has a crisper scaly appearance, with prominent light-grey edge lining.

Twitcher's tip

Compared with Great Knots, they have a much shorter bill. Compared with other species of waders, they are the only small species with a barred rump.

The correct identification of waders ("shorebirds"), e.g. of the Calidris, Tringa, Actitis and related families or of the Charadrius, Pluvialis and related genera in the field can be quite tricky. We have therefore made an attempt to give some advice HERE.

The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org .

The global distribution of the Red Knot is available HERE .

Red Knots are a global, strongly migratory species with 6 different races. Their breeding grounds are located in Arctic tundra and rocky terrain on all northern continents and also on many Arctic islands (including e.g. Greenland and Iceland). Birds from North America winter in South America and Europe, while the western Eurasian population winters in Africa and more eastern Asian populations migrate to New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. During their migration and in their winter grounds they are found predominantly in coastal areas.

Red Knots are migrants to Australia from the North, to Cape York peninsula via the Torres Strait, but also to the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Top End of the NT, as far West as Darwin, from Java, Indonesia. They are usually found only along the entire Australian coastline, including Tasmania and lots of small offshore islands. They are only rarely found inland - mostly in the Murray-Darling Basin.

Red Knots have a preference for tidal sands and mudflats. They are often found together with Great Knots.

Race "rogersi"

Race "piersmai"

Race "canutus"