Erythrogonys cinctus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The red-kneed dotterel (Erythrogonys cinctus) is a species of plover in a monotypic genus in the subfamily Vanellinae. It is often gregarious and will associate with other waders of its own and different species, even when nesting. It is nomadic and sometimes irruptive.
Adults distinctively marked: black cap or hood from bill, extending below eyes, merging at nape to grey-brown of back. White chin and throat. Broad black band on breast joining nape and also extending to flanks as chestnut stripe. Belly and vent white. Back and mantle grey-brown, mainly black upperwing with white trailing edge. Upper leg, including tarsal joint or "knee", red. Bill red with dark tip.
The red-kneed dotterel is native to mainland Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia, and has occurred as a vagrant in Tasmania, Palau and New Zealand. Mainly margins of shallow ephemeral and permanent freshwater wetlands, occasionally saline wetlands, but rarely tidal wetlands.
The red-kneed dotterel is long-legged and medium-sized (length 17–20 centimetres (6.7–7.9 in), wingspan 33–38 centimetres (13–15 in), weight 40–55 grams (1.4–1.9 oz)). ��2... Wikipedia →
Flight call0:05
Australia · 2015
© Marc Anderson · XC283418 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Call0:17
Australia · 2023
© Peter Boesman · XC859867 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Recording0:43
Australia · 2018
© deborod · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Red-kneed Dotterel sighting in Kakadu National Park on a given day, based on 57 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 128th most-seen of the 186 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September to November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red-kneed Dotterel in Kakadu National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–August and December–January, the lowest months. Those are among Kakadu National Park's driest months, with about 55 mm of rain a month against 350 mm in January. February has too few records to rate.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-kneed Dotterel sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Red-kneed Dotterel sightings, Kakadu National Park has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Hattah-Kulkyne National Park (Australia, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-kneed Dotterel is recorded against all the birds logged in Kakadu National Park (57 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
