Calidris canutus
- noun
- Specialized
:
Calidris canutus
- The Calidris canutus migrates thousands of miles each year.
Examples
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The decline in horseshoe crab populations has affected the breeding success of Calidris canutus along the Atlantic coast.
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Researchers tracked the Calidris canutus as it traveled from the Arctic to South America.
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Every spring, thousands of Calidris canutus undertake one of the longest migrations of any bird species.
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Have you seen a Calidris canutus on your trip to the Arctic?
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Every spring, thousands of Calidris canutus undertake one of the longest migrations of any bird species.
-
Researchers tracked the Calidris canutus as it traveled from the Arctic to South America.
-
The decline in horseshoe crab populations has affected the breeding success of Calidris canutus along the Atlantic coast.
Synonyms
4
9.8
A small migratory shorebird with reddish brown feathers in summer
Surface Forms
Morphology
Calidris + canutus
The genus name 'Calidris' directly signals a group of shorebirds, so a learner who knows taxonomic naming conventions could infer this is a kind of Calidris (i.e., a bird). However, the species epithet 'canutus' does not transparently convey the specific meaning 'red knot' and the exact common name or properties cannot be derived from the constituents alone, making the expression only partially predictable.
Etymology
The name Calidris canutus may come from two old words: Calidris from an ancient Greek word Aristotle used for grey shorebirds, and canutus from an old northern name that later became the English word 'knot'. So the scientific name points to the bird called the 'red knot', a small shorebird that breeds in the Arctic and migrates very far south.