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Red Knot
Calidris canutus
species of Scolopacidae

number longest lengths distribution of longest primary smallest individual biggest individual
primary 10 per wing 123.5 - 137.5mm n=24
P9 (58%) P10=P9 (21%) P10 (17%) P10=P9=P10=P9 (4%)
secondary 16 per wing 83.5 - 100.5mm n=16
S12 (63%) S13 (19%) S10 (6%) S12=S13 (6%) S13=S13 (6%)
4705
retrix 12
67.5 - 75.5mm n=11
R6 (55%) R5 (36%) R5=R6 (9%)
5550
wing length1 hand-wing-index1,2 (HWI) primaries-index wing length/longest primary ratio hand-wing-index/primaries-index ratio
155 - 172mm n=9 54 - 59% n=8 48 - 53% n=16 no data available no data available
detailed information

The wing length is measured on the flattened and straightened wing ("maximum chord") from the carpal joint to the tip of the longest primary feather, the so-called "Kleinschmidt-method".

combined data from:
Avonet1: 155 - 172mm n=9

The hand-wing-index, introduced by Kipp 1959, is calculated as the ratio of the hand length (difference between the length of the longest primary and the first secondary) to the wing length.

combined data from:
Avonet1: 54 - 59% n=8,
The primaries-index is calculated as the ratio of the longest primary feather length to the first (outermost) secondary. It is the equivalent of the hand-wing index for feather measurements. The wing length/longest primary ratio is calculated as the ratio of the wing length to the length of the longest primary feather. The hand-wing-index/primaries-index ratio is calculated as the ratio of the hand-wing index to the primaries-index.
1 Tobias, J. A., et al. (2022). AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds.
2 Kipp, Friedrich A.: "Der Handflügel-Index als flugbiologisches Maß", erschienen in "Vogelwarte - Zeitschrift für Vogelkunde", 1959, Band 20, Heft 1



specimens gallery

country allocations

extant

Albania (vagrant) · Algeria · Angola · Anguilla · Antigua and Barbuda · Argentina · Aruba · Australia · Austria · Azerbaijan (vagrant) · Bahamas · Bangladesh · Barbados · Belarus (vagrant) · Belgium · Belize · Benin · Bermuda · Bolivia, Plurinational State of · Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba · Botswana (vagrant) · Brazil · Brunei Darussalam · Bulgaria · Cabo Verde (vagrant) · Cameroon · Canada · Cayman Islands · Chile · China · Colombia · Congo · Costa Rica · Côte d'Ivoire · Croatia (vagrant) · Cuba · Curaçao · Cyprus (vagrant) · Czechia · Denmark · Dominica · Dominican Republic · Ecuador · Egypt · El Salvador · Equatorial Guinea · Estonia · Falkland Islands (Malvinas) (vagrant) · Faroe Islands · Fiji (vagrant) · Finland · France · French Guiana · French Southern Territories (vagrant) · Gabon · Gambia · Georgia (vagrant) · Germany · Ghana · Gibraltar (vagrant) · Greece · Greenland · Grenada · Guadeloupe (vagrant) · Guam (vagrant) · Guatemala · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Guyana · Haiti · Honduras · Hong Kong · Hungary · Iceland · India · Indonesia · Iran, Islamic Republic of · Iraq (vagrant) · Ireland · Israel · Italy · Jamaica (vagrant) · Japan · Jordan (vagrant) · Kazakhstan (vagrant) · Kenya (vagrant) · Korea, Democratic People's Republic of · Korea, Republic of · Kuwait (vagrant) · Latvia · Lebanon (vagrant) · Liberia · Libya · Luxembourg (vagrant) · Malaysia · Mali (vagrant) · Malta (vagrant) · Martinique · Mauritania · Mexico · Mongolia (vagrant) · Montenegro (vagrant) · Montserrat · Morocco · Mozambique (vagrant) · Myanmar · Namibia · Nepal (vagrant) · Netherlands · New Zealand · Nigeria · North Macedonia · Norway · Oman (vagrant) · Pakistan · Palau (vagrant) · Panama · Papua New Guinea · Paraguay · Peru · Philippines · Poland · Portugal · Puerto Rico · Romania (vagrant) · Russian Federation · Saint Barthélemy · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Saint Lucia · Saint Pierre and Miquelon · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Saudi Arabia (vagrant) · Senegal · Serbia (vagrant) · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Singapore · Slovakia · Slovenia (vagrant) · Somalia (vagrant) · South Africa · South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands · Spain · Sri Lanka · Sudan (vagrant) · Suriname · Svalbard and Jan Mayen · Sweden · Switzerland · Taiwan, Province of China · Tanzania, United Republic of · Thailand · Timor-Leste (vagrant) · Togo · Trinidad and Tobago · Tunisia · Türkiye · Turks and Caicos Islands · Ukraine · United Arab Emirates (vagrant) · United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland · United States of America · Uruguay · Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of · Viet Nam · Virgin Islands, British · Virgin Islands, U.S. · Western Sahara · Yemen (vagrant) · Zambia (vagrant) ·
source: IUCN 2025. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2025-1 <www.iucnredlist.org>
assessment data: |

Waders, gulls and auks

distribution

conservation status

  • CITES
    not listed
  • Regulation (EG) Nr. 865/2006
    not listed
  • German Federal Nature Conservation Act §44
    protected