General

Red Knot: Medium-sized sandpiper with black, brown and gray scaled upperparts, red-brown face, neck, breast and sides, and white lower belly. Wings show white bars in flight. Sexes are similar. Winter adult has pale gray upperparts and lightly spotted white underparts. Juvenile is similar to winter adult but has more distinctly scaled upperparts.

Range and Habitat

Red Knot: Breeds on islands in the arctic regions of Canada. Spends winters along Pacific and Atlantic coasts from California and Massachusetts south to South America; also found in Europe and Asia. Nests on tundra; found on tidal flats, rocky shores, and beaches during migration and winter.

Breeding and Nesting

Red Knot: Three to four pale olive buff eggs spotted with brown and black are laid in a ground depression lined with lichens, leaves, and moss, usually built near water. Incubation ranges from 21 to 23 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Red Knot: Feeds on marine and freshwater invertebrates such as aquatic insects, small mollusks, and various kinds of worms; also eats seeds. Forages on the ground, probing sandy beaches with its bill.

Vocalization

Red Knot: Utters a soft "quer-wer"; also a soft "knut."

Similar Species

Red Knot: Curlew Sandpiper has a decurved bill and white rump. Sanderling is smaller and has black spots on breast and a bold white wing stripe.