Red Knot Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesRed Knot
Breeding adult
Bulky sandpiper with a stout bill. Breeding adults are a rich cinnamon below and mottled grayish with cinnamon edgings above.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, May 25, 2013Breeding adult
Bulky shorebird with a stout bill, thickest at the base. Cinnamon below and mottled gray and cinnamon above.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, April 09, 2015Breeding adult
Nests in the tundra with low growing lichens and grasses. Lays 3 to 4 eggs in a scrape on the ground. Both males and females incubate.
© Luke Eberhart-Hertel / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, June 26, 2012Not all videos have sound
Nonbreeding adult/immature
Nonbreeding birds are gray above with gray barring on the flanks and faint vertical barring on the chest. Note thick sturdy bill.
© Carl Miller / Macaulay LibrarySouth Carolina, January 13, 2018Nonbreeding adult
In flight, pale gray rump and tail is visible. A long-winged and strong flier.
© Dorian Anderson / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, February 20, 2019Juvenile
Juveniles have a fine scaly pattern on the back and a white eyebrow stripe. Note plump body, sturdy bill, and dingy yellow legs.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, August 14, 2016Breeding adult
Bulky shorebird with a stout bill, thickest at the base. Cinnamon below and mottled gray and cinnamon above.
© Mark R Johnson / Macaulay LibraryMaryland, May 24, 2017© Sean Fitzgerald / Macaulay LibraryWaikato, March 12, 2019
© Robert Dorman / Macaulay LibraryNew Jersey, May 19, 2019
Similar SpeciesLong-billed Dowitcher
Nonbreeding
Long-billed Dowitchers have a longer bill than Red Knots. In flight, note the dark tail on Long-billed Dowitchers, but a pale tail on Red Knots.
© Sean Fitzgerald / Macaulay LibraryArizona, September 25, 2016Similar SpeciesLong-billed Dowitcher
Juvenile
Long-billed Dowitchers have a much longer bill than Red Knots.
© David Turgeon / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, August 26, 2016Similar SpeciesShort-billed Dowitcher
Nonbreeding adult
Short-billed Dowitchers have a longer bill than Red knots.
© Tom Edell / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, July 30, 2016Similar SpeciesDunlin
Nonbreeding adult
Dunlins are smaller and have a longer, slightly drooping bill than Red Knots.
© Alix d'Entremont / Macaulay LibraryNova Scotia, October 12, 2014Similar SpeciesSanderling
Breeding adult
Sanderlings are smaller than Red Knots with an unmarked white belly in all plumages. Red Knots have barred flanks during the nonbreeding season and a cinnamon belly during the breeding season.
© Jonathan Lugo / Macaulay LibraryVirginia, May 26, 2016Similar SpeciesSanderling
Nonbreeding adult
Sanderlings are smaller than Red Knots with an unmarked white belly in all plumages. Red Knots have barred flanks during the nonbreeding season and a cinnamon belly during the breeding season.
© Ryan Schain / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, November 16, 2014Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Sandpipers and Allies(Order: Charadriiformes, Family: Scolopacidae)
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