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8

Red Knot (Calidris canutus) Alternate name(s): "Knot", "Lesser Knot", "Grey-crowned Knot" German name(s): "Knutt" Size: 23-25 cm; wing span 57-61 cm Weight: 90-215 g (depending on race)

Europe: Family Group 8 Family Group 8 Table Ruddy Turnstone Common Snipe Bar-tailed Godwit Black-tailed Godwit Eurasian Curlew Whimbrel Little Curlew Sanderling Temminck's Stint Little Stint Dunlin Purple Sandpiper Common Greenshank Common Redshank Spotted Redshank Lesser Yellowlegs Wood Sandpiper Curlew Sandpiper Common Sandpiper Green Sandpiper Ruff Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Red Knots are small waders. Their plumage is highly cryptic. When seen in Europe, 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. The correct identification of waders ("shorebirds"), e.g. of the Calidris, Tringa, Actitis etc. 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.

Taxonomy, classification See Red Knot at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range 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 non-breeding winter migrants to Europe from their breeding grounds in the Arctic North. While in Europe, they are a strictly coastal species. Winter quarters in Europe are scattered along the West coast from Denmark in the North to southern Portugal in the South. Other than Sicily and around the Bosporus, they usually do not stay on the northern coastline of the Mediterranean. Red Knots have a preference for coastal habitats, in particular tidal sands and mudflats.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "canutus" G. Pinelas reports spotting Red Knots, nominate race "canutus", at Lagoa de Albufeira, near Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, in October 2017. J. Pires reports finding a Red Knot, nominate race "canutus", at Odemira, Beja, Portugal, in October 2018. Others were spotted at Salinas da Fuseta, Olhao, Algarve, Portugal, in November 2021. Race "rogersi" Red Knots, race "rogersi", were found by us in Australia.

Photos

Race "canutus"

ADULT

Sex unknown

NON-BREEDING

Frontal view of a Red Knot in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Lagoa de Albufeira, near Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, October 2017]

Near-lateral view of a Red Knot in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Lagoa de Albufeira, near Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, October 2017]

Lateral view of a Red Knot in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Lagoa de Albufeira, near Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, October 2017]

Lateral view of a Red Knot in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Lagoa de Albufeira, near Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, October 2017]

Lateral view of Red Knots in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Lagoa de Albufeira, near Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, October 2017]

Lateral view of Red Knots in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Lagoa de Albufeira, near Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, October 2017]

Lateral view of a Red Knot in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Salinas da Fuseta, Olhao, Algarve, Portugal, November 2021]

4 Red Knots in non-breeding plumage, one of which is stretching its wings
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Salinas da Fuseta, Olhao, Algarve, Portugal, November 2021]

Near-dorsal view of a Red Knot in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Salinas da Fuseta, Olhao, Algarve, Portugal, November 2021]

Near-dorsal view of Red Knots in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Salinas da Fuseta, Olhao, Algarve, Portugal, November 2021]

Near-dorsal/dorsal view of Red Knots in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Lagoa de Albufeira, near Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, October 2017]

Near-dorsal/dorsal view of Red Knots in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Lagoa de Albufeira, near Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, October 2017]

Race "rogersi"

Red Knots, race "rogersi", were photographed by us in Australia.

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Mon, 12 December 2022, 3:55 +00:00