Calidris tenuirostris
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The great knot (Calidris tenuirostris) is a medium-sized 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.
Within the genus Calidris the great knot is most closely related to the surfbird (Calidris virgata). The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific tenuirostris is from Latin tenuis "slender" and rostrum "bill".
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.
The species is also recorded in summer in low numbers in western Alaska, United States in most years, and in winter in small numbers west to Pakistan, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. It has occurred as a vagrant in Great Britain, Morocco, New Zealand, British Columbia in Canada, and in the lower 48 states of the USA in Oregon, West Virginia, and... Wikipedia →
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Russian Federation · 2017
© Christian A. Jensen · XC396375 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Range | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Ningaloo Marine Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Great Knot sighting in Melbourne on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 232nd most-seen of the 236 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Great Knot in Melbourne on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Great Knot sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 13 cities where we can rate Great Knot sightings, Melbourne ranks 13th at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Manila (Philippines, under 5%), Brisbane (Australia, under 5%) and Tokyo (Japan, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Great Knot is recorded against all the birds logged in Melbourne (5 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
