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Great Knot
Calidris tenuirostris
Conservation Status
Listed as Vulnerable under the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act.
What does it look like?
The Great Knot is a medium-sized bulky wader with a straight, dark-brown bill and yellowish-brown legs. It has a striped crown with an indistinct white eyebrow. Its upperparts are grey, with dark feather tips; its underparts are white. The rump is pure white; the tail is tipped with grey. Breeding plumage consists of darker upperparts with black and chestnut markings.
Where does it live?
It occurs within sheltered, coastal habitats containing large, intertidal mudflats or sandflats, including inlets, bays, harbours, estuaries and lagoons. Often recorded on sandy beaches with mudflats nearby, sandy spits and inlets and sometimes on exposed reefs or rock platforms. Migrates to Australia from later August to early September. In NSW, the species has been recorded at scattered sites along the coast to about Narooma. It has also been observed inland at Tullakool, Armidale, Gilgandra and Griffith. Most birds return north in March and April, however some individuals may stay over winter in Australia.
What does it eat?
They forage for food by methodically thrusting their bill deep into the mud to search for invertebrates, such as bivalve molluscs, gastropods, polychaete worms and crustaceans.
Updated: 21 Jun 2011
Related Links
- Great Knot - DEC - NSW Threatened Species Profile