Red Knot: Moonbird

_{This YouTube video was produced by the American Bird Conservancy.}

The rufous-breasted Red Knot (Calidris canutus rufa), once known as the “Robin Snipe,” is a champion long-distance migrant, flying more than 9,000 miles from south to north every spring, then reversing the trip every autumn.

One tagged Red Knot lived to at least 19 years old. Over its lifetime, researchers estimate that this bird traveled farther than the distance from Earth to the Moon, hence its nickname, Moonbird.

The rufa Red Knot is one of six subspecies, three of which are found in North America. The rufa Red Knot’s migration along the eastern U.S. to its breeding grounds is timed to coincide with the spawning season of the horseshoe crab, as its massive outlay of eggs provides a rich, easily digestible food source for the knot and other migrating shorebirds such as the Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Sandpiper, and Dunlin. Delaware Bay shores provide the single most important spring stopover area for the rufa Red Knot, hosting within a narrow time window up to 90 percent of the North American population. Other key U.S. stopover sites include coastal islands off of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, and Massachusetts.

Also known as: Moonbird, Robin Snipe, Correlimos Gordo (Spanish)

Learn more about the Red Knot: https://abcbirds.org/birds/red-knot/