Great Knot

Calidris tenuirostris (Horsfield, 1821)

Great Knot, Calidris tenuirostris, is a sandpiper in the family Scolopacidae that breeds across the low Arctic and subarctic montane tundra of north-east Siberia, from Yakutsk east to the Anadyr Peninsula. Outside the breeding season it moves to coastal areas from the north-east Arabian Peninsula through southern and south-east Asia, the Indonesian Archipelago, Taiwan, south China, the Philippines, north-west and south New Guinea, and Australia, including Tasmania. It is one of the largest Calidris species and has a slender dark bill and short dark legs. Breeding birds show mottled grey upperparts with rufous scapulars and heavily marked underparts.

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Scolopacidae — Sandpipers, Snipes

Breeding range

Palearctic: low Arctic and subarctic montane tundra: ne Siberia from Yakutsk e to Anadyr Pen.

Nonbreeding range

Oriental Region, Australasia: coastal Australasia: ne Arabian Pen., coastal s, se Asia, Indonesian Arch., Taiwan, se China, Philippines, nw, s New Guinea, Australia including Tasmania