The Red Knot is a small to medium member of the Calidridinae family. It has a length of 23-25 cm, a wingspan of 45-54 cm and a weight of 120 g. The species is robust, short-necked, rather dumpy but long bodied wader with a short straight bill, long wings extending beyond the tail and short legs. The Red Knot is similar in shape and proportions to Great Knot, Calidris tenuirostris, but smaller and less bulky, with shorter bill, and the breeding plumage differs markedly. In all plumages the species has a clear narrow white wing bar and off-white patch on the rump and uppertail-coverts. It is obscured by narrow dark barring and appears pale grey at a distance.
Red Knot, Knot |
Calidris canutus
Government evidence of impact of climate change:
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Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Species Profile and Threats Database, Calidris canutus
Threats Top Global threatsThere are a number of threats that affect migratory shorebirds in the East Asian Australasian Flyway.
Global warming and associated changes in sea level are likely to have a long term impact on the breeding; staging and non breeding grounds of migratory waders (Harding et al. 2007).