Red knot

    Calidris canutus

Castilian: Correlimos gordo

Catalan: Territ gros

Gallego: Pilro gordo

Euskera: Txirri lodia

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Charadriiformes

Family: Scolopacidae

Migratory status: Passage migrant

CONSERVATION STATUS:

On the National List of Threatened Species, it appears in the “Of Special Interest” category. In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Not Evaluated”.

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THREATS

Principally illegal hunting, pollution (which affects the food supply), disturbances during breeding season, and the destruction of its habitat during winter season.

Length / size: 23-26 cm / 47-53 cm

Identification: Small, pudgy wader with a short, black bill. During mating season, adults have a characteristic orange colour on their face and lower body, with a streaked crown, a dark back with orange markings, and grey wing coverts. Their plumage is greyish during the rest of the year, the rachis of their feathers are black, their chest mottled and their forehead pale.

Song: In flight it makes a nasal sound, something like "hweet hweet".

Diet: During breeding season it feeds on both insects and plant matter, but during the rest of the year its diet primarily includes mollusks that it finds in intertidal zones, which it captures by continuously digging in the silt.

Reproduction: Breeding begins in mid-June and is done alone. The nest is build in a small depression in the ground, which the bird covers with plants and lichens; the nest is located in open areas near water. Shortly after being born, the chicks move about and feed themselves.

HABITAT

In order to nest it occupies open areas that are near the coast, such as rocky hills. But during the rest of the year it prefers sandy or muddy areas, like marshes and beaches.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: In winter, it is distributed throughout Galicia, western Andalusia and the Canary Islands, and to a lesser degree in the Balearic Islands. During migration it can be seen along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, but rarely.

In Castile and León: It can be seen in the entire community, but the largest populations are concentrated in Villafáfila (Zamora), La Nava Lake (Palencia), the Ebro swamp (Burgos), Boada Lake and Azud de Riolobos (Salamanca).

Movements and migrations: Specimens from Greenland, Siberia and northern Canada arrive to our latitudes for the winter, and some even reach Africa. The prenuptial passage takes place between May and June, and the postnuptial between September and October.

POPULATION

In Spain: As many as 200 wintering specimens have been observed.

In Castile and León: