Red Knot (Calidris canutus), Paloma Ranch , Maricopa County

This Red Knot was found and photographed by Brian Johnson on 31 August 2018

The Red Knot is a casual fall transient in Arizona. Its worldwide population is seriously declining. 

This is a juvenile Red Knot, which is aged by the scaly pattern on the bird's scapulars, coverts, and tertials. Juvenile and non-breeding Red Knots are mostly gray with a white lower belly, barred flanks, and dull yellow-grayish legs. Red Knot is a chunky but long-winged shorebird and its shape is quite distinctive. It has short legs, a rather stout but medium-length bill, and a horizontal stance.

31 August 2018, photo by Brian Johnson

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