Great Knot
Calidris tenuirostris
Medium-sized, stocky shorebird found almost exclusively on coastal mudflats during migration, seldom inland. Distinctive adult in breeding plumage has a brick-orange upperwing patch, blackish back, and chest with black mottling. Duller nonbreeding and juvenile plumages are grayish brown above, white below, with grayish mottling in neck and upper breast. Smaller Red Knot much paler in nonbreeding plumage and has shorter bill. Flight call a sharp, whistled “kweet-kweet.”
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Calidris tenuirostris
- Authority
- (Horsfield, 1821)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Calidris
Range and habitat
Their breeding habitat is tundra in northeast Siberia, Russia. They nest on the ground laying about four eggs in a ground scrape. They are strongly migratory wintering on coasts in southern Asia through to Australia. This species forms enormous flocks in winter. <p>The species is also recorded in low numbers in western Alaska, United States, most years, and has occurred as a vagrant in British Columbia, Canada, and in Oregon, West Virginia, and Maine, in the U.S.
- Breeding range
- PAL : low Arctic and subarctic montane tundra: ne Siberia from Yakutsk e to Anadyr Pen.
- Non-breeding range
- OR, AU : coastal Australasia: ne Arabian Pen., coastal s, se Asia, Indonesian Arch., Taiwan, se China, Philippines, nw, s New Guinea, Australia including Tasmania
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
These birds forage on mudflats and beaches, probing or picking up food by sight. They mainly eat molluscs and insects.
Conservation
The great knot is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.<p>Since 5 May 2016 and as of August 2023[update], the great knot is listed as critically endangered in Australia under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), with the next assessment due on 30 October 2023.[2] A study published in Biological Conservation in March 2023 listed 23 species which the authors considered to no longer meet the criteria as threatened species under the EPBC Act, including the great knot. The reason for the assessment was "Populations now stable or declining at a rate less than threshold".[7][8]<p>Under state and territory legislation, the species is as of August 2023[update] listed as vulnerable in New South Wales and the Northern Territory; endangered in South Australia; and critically endangered in Queensland, Victoria, and Western Australia.[2]
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Cyclarhis gujanensis
A large chunky vireo, widespread in tropical and subtropical wooded habitats. Forages sluggishly, mainly at mid-upper levels, sometimes joining mixed-species feeding flocks. Plumage varies across its range, but all populations have a very stout pale bill, a rusty eyebrow, and pinkish legs; underparts vary from bright yellow (as in mainland Mexico and Central America) to dingy yellow (as on Cozumel Island).
Magpie Starling
Speculipastor bicolor
An unusual and distinctive starling of dry country. Males are dark above and white below, with a blue-black hood and upperparts; females are dark gray. Both sexes have an orange eye and white patches in the wings that are conspicuous in flight. Found in dry thorn savanna, thorn scrub, and woodland, usually in flocks which wander erratically. The song is a continuous jumble of scratchy notes and whistles. The most common call is a harsh “chek.”
Hispaniolan Trogon
Priotelus roseigaster
This strikingly colored denizen of montane woodlands (and less often, mangrove swamps) is rather sedate. It is often found sitting upright and rather motionless, typically in pairs. One's first impression is often of a rather long and largish bird with a brilliant red belly, emerald back, and blackish head. No similar species occur within its range. Song is a tremulous “whut-will,” with second note longer and trailing off at end. The first note is sometimes omitted and second note is sometimes given as doublet or triplet. Calls include a shrill “whee” and soft coos. Though rather vocal, calling birds are difficult to locate due ventriloquial quality of their vocalizations.
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