ANIMALS – BIRDS – SEABIRDS - RED KNOT (CALIDRIS CANUTUS)

Animals - Birds - Seabirds

Red Knot (Calidris canutus)

Scientific Classification:

Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Aves
Order : Charadriiformes
Family : Scolopacidae
Genus : Calidris
Species : C. Canutus

Description:

The Red knot (Calidris canutus) (just knot in Europe) is a medium-sized shorebird which breeds in tundra and the Arctic Cordillera in the far north of Canada, Europe, and Russia. It is a large member of the Calidris sandpipers, second only to the great knot. Six subspecies are recognised.

Their diet varies according to season; arthropods and larvae are the preferred food items at the breeding grounds, while various hard-shelled molluscs are consumed at other feeding sites at other times. North American breeders migrate to coastal areas in Europe and South America, while the Eurasian populations winter in Africa, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand. This species forms enormous flocks when not breeding.

This Red Knot was first described by Linnaeus in the landmark 1758 tenth edition of his Systema Naturae as Tringa canutus. One theory is that it gets its name and species epithet from King Canute, Knot being another form of Canute; the name would refer to the knot's foraging along the tide line and the story of Canute and the tide. Another etymology is that the name is onomatopoeic, based on the bird's grunting call note.

Binomial Name:

Name : Calidris canutus
Taxonomist : Carl Linnaeus (Småland - Sweden)
Year : 1758
Subspecies : 6 (Roselaari, Rufa, Canutus, Islandica, Rogersi, Piersmai)
Synonyms : Tringa canutus

Conservation Status by IUCN:

Status : Least Concern

Has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as evaluated but not qualified for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, near threatened, or (prior to 2001) conservation dependent.

Philatelic Issues

2013 – Uruguay – Stamp 1 of 2, from Tourist Sites:Atlantic Coastline Series

Issue information:

Country: Uruguay
Date: December 4th, 2015
Printed: 15.000 Copies
Type: Stamp from Series of 2 Stamps
Value: UYP 15

Stamp: Rectangular
Size: 27 mm. x 39 mm.
Perforation: Circular
Gum: Water Activated