Sandpipers · Shorebirds
Red Knot
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Calidris canutus
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Voice
Call
How to recognize it
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About 25 cm, compact shorebird with short neck
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Short straight bill, short dark greenish legs
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Winter plumage: ash-grey above, whitish below
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In flight, white wing edges and tail stand out
About the species
Red Knot looks compact and purposeful, with a short neck and a fairly short bill. In flight, the pale wing edges and tail are easy to notice, while in winter it reads as a calm, understated shorebird.
It spends much of its time on mudflats and shallow shores, probing the surface and soft mud for food. Outside the breeding season it gathers in large flocks, and before long migrations it can almost double its weight.
It breeds in the high Arctic of Greenland, Canada, Alaska, and Siberia. Its food is mostly molluscs, and during migration it also feeds heavily on horseshoe crab eggs at stopovers such as Delaware Bay and the Wadden Sea; many populations winter in West Africa or other coastal areas farther south.
Where to find
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On mudflats by canals, ponds, and sheltered waterfronts—where exposed silt and a falling tide leave food behind, Red Knot works the edge with quick probing jabs.
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Along broad shore embankments and wet sand fringes—especially near drainage outlets, where a tight flock runs and picks up tiny molluscs.
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On calm muddy banks of windy water bodies—look for the low, compact shape and brisk side-to-side dashes right at the waterline.
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During migration, it may pause on open stone spits and bare concrete edges—feed briefly, then move on almost at once.
