Great Knot - Singapore Birds Project

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This species is defined as a Review Species. Please submit your records of this species via our record submission page.

Scientific Name: Calidris tenuirostris

Malay Name: Kedidi-Dian Besar

Chinese Name: 大滨鹬

Range: Breeds in Northeast Siberia and winters along the coasts of Indian subcontinent, southern China, Southeast Asia and Australia

Taxonomy: Monotypic.

Size: 28.5-29.5 cm

Identification: Adult in non-breeding plumage can be separated from other similar size waders by a combination of attenuated shape, longish, broad-based, slightly downward tapering blackish bill, shortish legs, greyish upperparts, indistinct supercilium, streaked greyish head to upperbreast, whitish belly and blackish spots on sides of breast and upper flanks. Adult in breeding plumage has bolder streaks and darker spots on head, breast and flanks. Juvenile resembles non-breeding adult but has darker upperparts.

Similar looking species: Red Knot

Habitat: Mudflats and sandflats.

Behaviour/Ecology: Gregarious and feeds mainly by probing.

Local Status: Rare migrant

Conservation Status: Endangered (BirdLife International 2019)

Featured reports: Nov 2022, Mar 2024, Jan 2025

Past records in our database:

Showing only accepted records. Note that records currently under review are also not displayed, and the list may not be a full list of records of this species in Singapore. For more details, check the database here.

Migrant bar chart (see more bar charts):

Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris

Average number of individuals by week based on Singapore Bird Database data, Jul 2014 to Jun 2024 (all records) Peak week Nov 05-Nov 11 Early date 04 Aug 1988 Late date 06 May 2018 Double-tap to reset zoom Yet another increasingly scarce wader in Singapore, but typically at least one record every season. Your best bet of finding this species would be at Chek Jawa. Great Knot at Pulau Tekong. Photo Credit: Frankie Cheong Great Knot at Seletar Dam. Photo credit: Francis Yap Great Knot at Seletar Dam. Photo Credit: Zahidi Hamid Great Knot at Seletar Dam. Photo credit: Francis Yap Great Knot at SBWR. Photo Credit: Chris Li

External Links:

Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page

Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link

Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link

eBird Species page: eBird (Great Knot)

References:

BirdLife International. (2019). Calidris tenuirostris. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22693359A155482913.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023

Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

RECOMMENDED CITATION

Bird Society of Singapore. (n.d.). Great Knot. Retrieved on February 24, 2026 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/great-knot.

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