Medium. Bulky will a relatively short thick bill, short legs. Bill about same length as head. Sexes alike.
Adults: Breeding: Crown, back, scapulars, dark brown, mottled with pale rufous and buff. Eyebrow, prominent, rufous red. Face, throat, breast, upper belly, flanks, rufous red. Eye, dark brown. Eyestrip, from lores to ear mixed dark brown, rufous and buff. Rump, upperetail coverts, whitish with narrow black barring, appearing light grey at a distance. Tail, light greyish-brown. Flight feathers, dark brown. Wing coverts, grey edged with white, greater and primary coverts tipped white, forming a narrow but conspicuous wing bar. Lower belly, white. Lower flanks, undertail coverts, white faintly barred with dark brown. Underwing, mostly white mixed with grey. Bill, black, slightly tapering. Legs, yellowish-green. Non-breeding: Eyebrow, throat, lower breast, belly, white. Lores, dark grey. Crown, hind neck, mostly dark brown and greyish-white. Upper back, grey. Back, scapulars, pale brownish-grey, feathers edged with dark brown then white. Rump, uppertail coverts, similar to back but pale grey. Wing, similar to breeding plumage but pale grey. Sides of face, neck, breast, flanks, whitish-grey with fine greyish-brown streaks or crescents. Underwing, almost white.
Immatures: Similar to non-breeding adult, but browner.
Other Names (World)
Red Knot, Knot, Common Knot, Lesser Knot, European Knot, Grey-crowned Knot, Gray-crowned Knot, Iceland Sandpiper, Howester
Family
Scolopacidae (Sandpipers, Snipes, Phalaropes)
Regular, widespread summer migrant (August - April). Some overwinter.
Habitat
Coastal sandflats and the margins of inlets and rivers, usually in small groups, often associated with other waders, occasionally in dense flocks.
Algeria, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium (NB), Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria (NB), Cameroon, Canada (P), Cayman Islands, Chile (NB), China (mainland), Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte dIvoire, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark (NB) (P), Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea (NB), Estonia (NB), Faroe Islands, Finland (P), France (NB) (P), French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Germany (NB) (P), Ghana, Greece (NB) (P), Greenland (B), Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong (China), Hungary, Iceland (NB) (P), India, Indonesia, Iran [Islamic Republic of] (NB) (P), Ireland (NB), Israel, Italy (NB), Japan, Latvia, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (NB), Malaysia, Martinique, Mauritania, Mexico, Montserrat, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Netherlands (NB) (P), Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway (P), Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland (P), Portugal (NB), Puerto Rico, Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (P), Russia (European), Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia (Slovak Republic), South Africa, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, South Korea, Spain (NB) (P), Sri Lanka, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Pierre and Miquelon (P), St Vincent and The Grenadines, Suriname, Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (B), Sweden (P), Switzerland, Taiwan (China), Tanzania [United Republic of], Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey (NB) (P), Turks and Caicos Islands, Ukraine (P), United Kingdom (NB) (P), Uruguay (NB), USA (B), Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands (British) (NB), Virgin Islands (U.S.) (NB), Western Sahara.
Vagrant to Albania, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Botswana, Cape Verde, Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska), Cyprus, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Fiji, French Southern Territories, Georgia, Gibraltar, Guam, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Mali, Malta, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nepal, Oman, Palau, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Somalia, Sudan, Timor-Leste, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Zambia.
Breeds in the high Arctic, migrates widely to South America, Africa and southern Asia, east and south to Australia and New Zealand.
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Population
Estimated population is 25,000 (2011) and decreasing.
Status NT
Habitat loss through land reclamation, over-exploitation of shellfish, human disturbance and suscepitibility to avian influenza are the main threats.
Food
Worms, bivalves, gastropods, crustaceans and echinoderms. Also shoots, bulbs, seeds and roots, especially early in the breeding season. Insects and some plant material on Tundra, worms, shrimps and other crustaceans on seashores.
Voice
A throaty, 'knut-knut' and a mellow, whistling 'tooit-wit'. Fluting calls during the breeding season. A short, slightly nasal 'kwett' in winter.
Red Knot (Calidris canutus) [XC746502]
by Ricardo Hevia from Ortegal (near Cari\u00f1o), A Coru\u00f1a, Galicia, Spain (nocturnal flight call)
Red Knot (Calidris canutus) [XC414689]
by Simon Gillings from Metropolitana de Huelva (near Huelva), Huelva, Andaluc\u00eda, Spain (call, flight call, migrating birds flying over)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. Breeds June - August in Arctic.
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Nest
A shallow scrape on the ground, in the open, near water, and sparsely lined with vegetation.
Eggs (Guide)
4, occasionally 3; slightly glossy, olive-buff, spotted and scrawled with umber-brown, more thickly at the larger end; ellipsoidal; about 43 x 30 mm. Incubation: 21 - 22 days; by both sexes.
Subspecies
Subspecies islandica, rogersi and, until recently, roselaari formerly included within nominate canutus.
The following 6 subspecies are recognised:
canutus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Central-northern Siberia, in Taymyr Peninsula, New Siberian Is and possibly Yakutia. Winters in western and southern Africa and probably Australasia.
rogersi (Mathews, 1913) - Chukotskiy Peninsula and possibly areas farther west. Winters in Australasia.
roselaari Tomkovich, 1990 - Wrangel I and north-western Alaska. Probably winters in Florida, southern Panama and northern Venezuela.
rufa (Wilson, A, 1813) - Canadian low Arctic. Winters in north-eastern and southern South America.
islandica (Linnaeus, 1767) - Islands of Canadian high Arctic and northern Greenland. Winters in western Europe.
piersmai Tomkovich, 2001 - New Siberian Archepelago. Winters in north-western Australia.
Similar Species
Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris)
Larger. Non-breeding with non-breeding. Bill, longer, heavier based with a slightly decurved tip. Eyestripe, not as distinct. Eyebrow, white and shorter, mainly behind eye. Has a white rump.
Sanderling (Calidris alba)
Smaller. Non-breeding with non-breeding. Has less streaked and whiter underparts. In flight, has a larger white wing bar. White rump has a dark center.
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus)
Slightly larger. Breeding with breeding. Bill is longer. Legs are lighter. In flight shows a white wedge extending up the back.
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)
Slightly larger. Breeding with breeding. Bill is longer. Legs are lighter. In flight shows a white wedge extending up the back.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
BirdLife International Species Factsheet