Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Red Knot

Calidris canutus

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Red Knot

G4Apparently Secure Found in 15 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
Near threatenedIUCN
PSESA Status
HighThreat Impact
Red Knot (Calidris canutus). © Sharif Uddin; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Sharif Uddin; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Red Knot (Calidris canutus). © Matthew Dolkart; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Matthew Dolkart; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Red Knot (Calidris canutus). © Sacha Balavoine; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Sacha Balavoine; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Red Knot (Calidris canutus). © Ryan Sanderson; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Ryan Sanderson; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Red Knot (Calidris canutus). © Baxter Beamer; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Baxter Beamer; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Red Knot (Calidris canutus). © Kieran Barlow; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Kieran Barlow; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100057
Element CodeABNNF11020
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNNear threatened
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderCharadriiformes
FamilyScolopacidae
GenusCalidris
USESAPS
COSEWICPS:E,T,SC,NAR
Other Common Names
Bécasseau maubèche (FR) Playero Canuto, Playero Árctico (ES) Ruiva, Maçarico-de-Papo-Vermelho (PT)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-07
Change Date2005-10-04
Edition Date2014-08-14
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Threat ImpactHigh
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
This bird's population is declining but its numbers are still in the 100,000s
Range Extent Comments
Nesting range in North America is in northwestern and northern Alaska, and Canadian arctic islands east to Ellesmere and south to southern Victoria and Southhampton islands, probably also on Adelaide Peninsula and Mansel Island; nesting also occurs in the northern Palearctic.

During the boreal winter, the range in the New World extends mainly from coastal regions of southern California, Gulf Coast and Massachusetts south to Tierra del Fuego; generally rare north of southern South America; major South American nonbreeding areas are Tierra del Fuego and Patagonian coast of Argentina, especially Bahia Lomas (Morrison and Ross 1989). New World red knots principally occupy two areas: about 100,000 birds along Atlantic coast of southern Argentina, about 10,000 along Florida Gulf Coast, with no evidence of interchange between the 2 groups (Harrington et al. 1988). In the Old World, most red knots are in southern Europe, southern Asia, Africa, and the Australasian region during the boreal winter.

Nonbreeders occasionally summer in the winter range.

Delaware Bay is the most important spring migration stopover in the eastern United States (Clark et al. 1993, Botton et al. 1994).
Occurrences Comments
The global population estimate is greater than one million individuals. There should be at least 300 EOs with those population numbers (Birdlife International, 2014).
Threat Impact Comments
Increased commercial harvest of horseshoe crabs (for use as bait in eel and conch fisheries; especially in the Delaware Bay region in the 1990s; Walls et al. 2002, Morrison et al. 2004), a reduction in horseshoe crab populations, and a consequent reduction in red knot food resources (horseshoe crab eggs), body condition during spring migration, and annual survival (Baker et al. 2004) are major concerns for population that migrate along the U.S. Atlantic coast (Gonz lez et al. 2006, Niles et al. 2007).

Actions to conserve horseshoe crabs have included reduced harvest quotas, more efficient use of crabs as bait, closure of the harvest in certain seasons and places, and the designation of a sanctuary off the mouth of Delaware Bay (Niles et al. 2007). The latest information is that the crab population may have stabilized, but there is no evidence of recovery (Niles et al. 2007).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Primarily seacoasts on tidal flats and beaches, less frequently in marshes and flooded fields (AOU 1983). On sandy or pebbly beaches, especially at river mouths; feeds on mudflats, loafs and sleeps on salinas and salt-pond dikes (Costa Rica, Stiles and Skutch 1989). Nests on ground in barren or stony tundra and in well-vegetated moist tundra.

Ecology

Nonbreeding: usually in compact flocks.

Reproduction

Lays clutch of usually 4 eggs, June-July. Incubation lasts about 20-25 days, by both sexes. Young are tended mostly by male (female leaves before fledging), leave nest soon after hatching, can fly at about 18 days (Terres 1980).
Terrestrial Habitats
TundraSand/dune
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN2B,N3N
ProvinceRankNative
South DakotaSNAYes
WashingtonS3NYes
CaliforniaSNRNYes
MinnesotaSNRMYes
ArkansasSNAYes
OregonSNAYes
New HampshireSNAYes
AlabamaS2NYes
FloridaS4NYes
MichiganSNRNYes
ColoradoSNAYes
VirginiaS2NYes
MississippiS2NYes
MissouriSNAYes
DelawareS1MYes
IndianaSNAYes
WisconsinS1NYes
ConnecticutS1MYes
PennsylvaniaSNRMYes
NebraskaSNRNYes
IowaSNRMYes
GeorgiaSNRYes
Rhode IslandS3NYes
OhioSNRMYes
New YorkS2MYes
KentuckySNAYes
AlaskaS2BYes
IllinoisSNAYes
TexasS3NYes
New JerseyS1NYes
District of ColumbiaS1NYes
North DakotaSNAYes
MassachusettsS2NYes
MaineS3NYes
KansasSNAYes
South CarolinaSNRNYes
North CarolinaSNRNYes
MarylandS1MYes
LouisianaS2NYes
TennesseeS2NYes
UtahSNAYes
CanadaN3B,N3M,N3N
ProvinceRankNative
NunavutS3BYes
Prince Edward IslandS2MYes
LabradorS2MYes
OntarioS1MYes
Nova ScotiaS2MYes
SaskatchewanS2MYes
AlbertaSUMYes
ManitobaS1MYes
Northwest TerritoriesS1Yes
New BrunswickS2MYes
Island of NewfoundlandS2MYes
QuebecSNAYes
British ColumbiaS3MYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
11 - Climate change & severe weatherPervasive (71-100%)UnknownLow (long-term)
11.1 - Habitat shifting & alterationPervasive (71-100%)UnknownLow (long-term)

—

Roadless Areas (15)
Alaska (7)
AreaForestAcres
Chugach-16Chugach National Forest312
Copper River WetlandsChugach National Forest85,972
Copper River WetlandsChugach National Forest85,972
Fidalgo-GravinaChugach National Forest257,968
Kenai MountainsChugach National Forest306,600
South KruzofTongass National Forest55,193
Yakutat ForelandsTongass National Forest323,648
California (2)
AreaForestAcres
JuncalLos Padres National Forest12,289
WattersonInyo National Forest6,922
Oregon (5)
AreaForestAcres
TahkenitchSiuslaw National Forest5,799
TenmileSiuslaw National Forest10,818
Umpqua SpitSiuslaw National Forest2,090
Umpqua SpitSiuslaw National Forest2,090
WoahinkSiuslaw National Forest5,309
Utah (1)
AreaForestAcres
South FrancisWasatch-Cache National Forest3,374
References (62)
  1. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  3. Atkinson, P. W., A. J. Baker, R. M. Bevan, N. A. Clark, K. B. Cole, P. M. Gonzalez, J. Newton, L. J. Niles, and R. A. Robinson. 2005. Unravelling the migration and moult strategies of a long-distance migrant using stable isotopes: Red Knot <i>Calidris canutus</i> movements in the Americas. Ibis 147:738-749.
  4. Baker, A. J., P. M. González, T. Piersma, L. J. Niles, I.L.S. do Nascimento, P. W. Atkinson, N. A. Clark, C.D.T. Minton, M. K. Peck, and G. Aarts. 2004. Rapid population decline in red knots: fitness consequences of decreased refuelling rates and late arrival in Delaware Bay. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 271:875-882.
  5. Baker, Allan, Patricia Gonzalez, R.I.G. Morrison, and Brian A. Harrington. 2013. Red Knot (<i>Calidris canutus</i>). The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, ed.). Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca. Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online:  http://bna.birds.cornell.edu.bnaproxy.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/563a/doi:10.2173/bna.563.
  6. Bent, A.C. 1927. Life histories of North American shorebirds (Part I). U.S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 142, Washington, D.C.
  7. BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
  8. BirdLife International. (2013-2014). IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on various dates in 2013 and 2014. http://www.birdlife.org/
  9. Botton, M. L., R. E. Loveland, and T. R. Jacobsen. 1994. Site selection by migratory shorebirds in Delaware Bay, and its relationship to beach characteristics and abundance of horseshoe crab (LIMULUS POLYPHEMUS) eggs. Auk 111:605-616.
  10. Braun, M. J., D. W. Finch, M. B. Robbins, and B. K. Schmidt. 2000. A field checklist of the birds of Guyana. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
  11. Carter, M., C. Hunter, D. Pashley, and D. Petit. 1998. The Watch List. Bird Conservation, Summer 1998:10.
  12. Carter, M., G. Fenwick, C. Hunter, D. Pashley, D. Petit, J. Price, and J. Trapp. 1996. Watchlist 1996: For the future. Field Notes 50(3):238-240.
  13. Castro, I. and A. Phillips. 1996. A guide to the birds of the Galapagos Islands. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
  14. Clark, K. E., L. J. Niles, and J. Burger. 1993. Abundance and distribution of migrant shorebirds in Delaware Bay. Condor 95:694-705.
  15. Delany, D., and D. Scott, editors. 2002. Waterbird population estimates. Third edition. Wetlands International Global Series No. 12.
  16. Dinsmore, S. J., J. A. Collazo, and J. R. Walters. 1998. Seasonal numbers and distribution of shorebirds on North Carolina's outer banks. Wilson Bull. 110: 171-181.
  17. Ehrlich, P. R., D. S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The birder's handbook: a field guide to the natural history of North American birds. Simon and Shuster, Inc., New York. xxx + 785 pp.
  18. Flint, V. E. 1972. The breeding of the knot on Vrangelya (Wrangell) Island, Siberia. Western Foundation [of Vertebrate Zoology]?
  19. Godfrey, W. E. 1992. Subspecies of the red knot <i>Calidris canutus </i>in the extreme northeastern Canadian Arctic islands. Wader Study Group Bulletin 64, Suppl.: 24-25.
  20. González, P. M., A. J. Baker, and M. E. Echave. 2006. Annual survival of red knots (<i>Calidris canutus rufa</i>) using the San Antonio Oeste stopover site is reduced by domino effects involving late arrival and food depletion in Delaware Bay. Hornero 21(2):109-117.
  21. González, P. M., M. Carbajal, R.I.G. Morrison, and A. J. Baker. 2004. Tendencias poblacionales del playero rojizo (<i>Calidris canutus rufa</i>) en el sur de Sudamérica. Ornitología Neotropical 15(Suppl.):357-365.
  22. Harrington, B. A. 2001. Red Knot. The Birds of North America, Vol. 15, No. 563. American Orinithologists' Union. The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.
  23. Harrington, B. A., J. M. Hagan, and L. E. Leddy. 1988. Site fidelity and survival differences between two groups of New World red knots (CALIDRIS CANUTUS). Auk 105:439-445.
  24. Harrington, B. and E. Perry. 1995. Important shorebird staging sites meeting Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network criteria in the United States. United States Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service.
  25. Hayman, P., J. Marchant, and T. Prater. 1986. Shorebirds: an identification guide to the waders of the world. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
  26. Hobson, W. 1972. The breeding biology of the knot. Western Foundation [of Vertebrate Zoology]?
  27. Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb. 1995. A guide to the birds of Mexico and northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
  28. Jehl, J. R., Jr. 1973. Breeding biology and systematic relationships of the stilt sandpiper. Wilson Bulletin 85:115-147.
  29. Johnson, S. R. and D. R. Herter. 1989. The Birds of the Beaufort Sea. BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., Anchorage, Alaska. 372 pp.
  30. Knopf, F.L. 1996. Mountain Plover (<i>Charadrius montanus</i>). In A. Poole and F. Gill, editors. The Birds of North America, No. 211. The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC. 16 pp.
  31. Knopf, F.L., and J.R. Rupert. 1996. Productivity and movements of mountain plovers breeding in Colorado. Wilson Bulletin 108:28-35.
  32. Morrison, R.I.G. 1993/1994. Shorebird population status and trends in Canada. Bird Trends (3):3-5. Canadian Wildlife Service.
  33. Morrison, R. I. G., and R. K. Ross. 1989. Atlas of Nearctic shorebirds on the coast of South America. Vols. 1 and 2. Canadian Wildl. Serv. Spec. Publ. 325 pp.
  34. Morrison, R. I. G., R. E. Gill, Jr., B. A. Harrington, S. Skagen, G. W. Page, C. L. Gratto-Trevor, and S. M. Haig. 2001. Estimates of shorebird populations in North America. Occasional Paper Number 104, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, Ottawa, ON. 64 pages.
  35. Morrison, R. I. G., R. K. Ross, and L. J. Niles. 2004. Declines in wintering populations of red knots in southern South America. Condor 106:60-70.
  36. Niles, L. J., et al. 2007. Status of the red knot (<i>Calidris canutus rufa</i>) in the Western Hemishere. Report prepared for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services, Region 5, New Jersey Field Office, 927 North Main Street, Pleasantville, New Jersey 08232.
  37. Nol, E., and M. S. Blanken. 1999. Semipalmated Plover (<i>Charadrius semipalmatus</i>). No. 444 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, eds. The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 24pp.
  38. Parker III, T. A., D. F. Stotz, and J. W. Fitzpatrick. 1996. Ecological and distributional databases for neotropical birds. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
  39. Peterson, R.T. 1980b. A field guide to the birds of eastern and central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
  40. Peterson, R.T. 1990b. A field guide to western birds. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
  41. Pfister, C., B.A. Harrington, and M. Lavine. 1992. The impact of human disturbance on shorebirds at a migration staging area. Biol. Conserv. 60:115-126.
  42. Piersma, T., and N. Davidson. 1992b. The migrations and annual cycles of five subspecies of knots in perspective. Wader Study Group Bulletin 64 (Supplement): 187-197.
  43. Piersma, T., and N. Davidson, editors. 1992a. Wader Study Group Bulletin 64, Supplement, April 1992. 209 pp.
  44. Piersma T., D. I. Rogers, P. M. González, L. Zwarts, L. J. Niles, I. Nascimento, C.D.T Minton, and A. J. Baker. 2005. Fuel storage rates before northward flights in red knots worldwide. Pages 262-273 in: R. Greenberg and P. P. Marra, editors. Birds of two worlds: ecology and evolution of migration. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
  45. Poole, A. F. and F. B. Gill. 1992. The birds of North America. The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. and The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA.
  46. Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 511 pp.
  47. Rappole, J.H., Morton, E.S., Lovejoy, T.E. and Ruos, J.L. 1983. Nearctic avian migrants in the Neotropics. U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service and World Wildlife Fund, Washington D.C.
  48. Richards, A. 1988. Shorebirds: a complete guide to their behavior and migration. W. H. Smith Publishers, Inc. New York.
  49. Ridgely, R. S. 2002. Distribution maps of South American birds. Unpublished.
  50. Ridgely, R. S. and J. A. Gwynne, Jr. 1989. A Guide to the Birds of Panama. 2nd edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA.
  51. Robert, M., R. McNeil, and A. Leduc. 1989. Conditions and significance of night feeding in shorebirds and other water birds in a tropical lagoon. Auk 106:94-101.
  52. Rose, P. M., and D. Scott. 1997. Waterfowl population estimates. 2nd edition. Wetlands International, Wageningen, Netherlands. 106pp.
  53. Rubega, M. A., D. Schamel, and D. M. Tracy. 2000. Red-necked Phalarope (<i>Phalaropus lobatus</i>). No. 538 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors, The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 28pp.
  54. Sibley, D. A. 2000a. The Sibley guide to birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  55. Stiles, F. G. and A. F. Skutch. 1989. A guide to the birds of Costa Rica. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, USA. 511 pp.
  56. Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  57. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2020. Species status assessment report for the rufa red knot (<i>Calidris canutus rufa</i>). Version 1.1. Ecological Services New Jersey Field Office, Galloway, New Jersey.
  58. Walls, E. A., J. Berkson, and S. A. Smith. 2002. The horseshoe crab, <i>Limulus polyphemus</i>: 200 million years of existence, 100 years of study. Reviews in Fisheries Science 10:39-73.
  59. Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) 1999. WHSRN Background Materials. Online. Available: http://www.whsrn.org/
  60. Whitefield, D. P., J. J. Brade, R. W. Burton, K. W. Hankinson, and S. Young. 1996. The abundance of breeding Knot CALIDRIS CANUTUS ISLANDICA. Bird Study 43: 290-299.
  61. Winegrad, G. 1999. Horseshoe crab protection advances. Bird Calls 3(1): 6-7.
  62. Zook, J. L. 2002. Distribution maps of the birds of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Unpublished.