The great knot is a small wader. It is one of the largest species in the genus Calidris. It is a migratory bird which breeds in eastern Siberia, Russia, and flies to southern Asia and Australia in the northern winter.
Region
East Asian–Australasian Flyway
Typical Environment
Breeds on stony tundra and upland river terraces in northeastern Siberia. During migration it concentrates at major staging sites around the Yellow Sea, including China and the Korean Peninsula. In the non-breeding season it occurs along coasts of South Asia and Southeast Asia, and is especially numerous in northern Australia (e.g., Roebuck Bay and Eighty Mile Beach). It favors expansive intertidal mudflats, sandflats, and sheltered estuaries, occasionally using exposed reef flats. Inland records are rare and typically occur during migration or storms.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1200 m
Climate Zone
Other
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The great knot is a long-distance migrant that breeds in northeastern Siberia and winters along coasts from South and Southeast Asia to Australia. It depends heavily on intertidal mudflats, making it vulnerable to coastal reclamation and habitat loss, especially around the Yellow Sea. During migration it can form vast, tightly coordinated flocks that wheel over tidal flats. Its slender, slightly decurved bill is adapted to probing for small bivalves and other invertebrates.
Great knots at Lee Point, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Temperament
social and gregarious
Flight Pattern
strong flier with rapid wingbeats; cohesive flock flights over tidal flats
Social Behavior
Outside the breeding season it gathers in large, tightly knit flocks that roost communally on high tide roosts. On the breeding grounds pairs nest on the ground in sparsely vegetated tundra, typically well spaced from other nests. Clutch size is usually four eggs, and both parents participate in incubation and chick care. Post-breeding, birds rapidly depart for staging areas before continuing south.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
Vocalizations are mainly sharp, rolling calls and buzzy flight notes; a soft, rippling 'prreet' is common over flocks. True song is rarely given and mostly confined to the breeding grounds, where display calls are brief and subdued.
