Red knot

Calidris canutus

Aves · Charadriiformes · Scolopacidae

Fig. 1. Red knot

Fig. 2. Range

Length or height	About 23-26 cm long
Weight	About 100-200 g
Food	Small clams, mussels, horseshoe-crab eggs
Lifespan	About 7 years or more (est.)
Society	Flocks
Habitat	coastal, polar
Range	North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia
Wild or tame	Wild

The rufa red knot flies about 15,000 km each way between the Canadian Arctic and Tierra del Fuego. In May it refuels on horseshoe-crab eggs in Delaware Bay; Florida beaches are a winter home and stopover.

Observe: Watch flocks twist in unison over the beach.

Modern data

Status today

NTNear threatened Threatened (rufa subspecies, 2014) status to verify

Conservation	Near threatened; the rufa subspecies is federally threatened.
Keeper's note	Daily checks of appetite, movement and behavior; enrichment that changes from day to day.
Kingdom · phylum	Animalia · Chordata
Genus	Calidris

Check the record: IUCN Red List · GBIF · Cornell Lab: All About Birds

See it elsewhere in the museum

TVSSXL

Same order: Charadriiformes

Arctic tern

Sterna paradisaea

LCLeast concern

Red-necked phalarope

Phalaropus lobatus

LCLeast concern