A Red Knot foraging for bivalves in mud exhibits its ability to flex the tips of its upper mandible (rhynchokinesis).

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Red Knots (Calidris canutus) feed on bivalves that live buried in mud. Using their smart bill tip, Red Knots are able to find such hard-shelled prey very efficiently. Red Knots are highly gregarious, and they use public information (observation of other Red Knots foraging) to help them find the best patches of prey. Once prey have been located, Red Knots use their remarkable ability to flex the tip of their upper mandible (rhynchokinesis) to grab and then extract bivalves from the sediment. This photograph originally appeared on the cover of Ecology (87:5) in May of 2006.

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Primary or BEN resource type	Photograph
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Format	jpeg
Ecological Core Concept	Interspecific interactions -- Predation and herbivory Interspecific interactions Individuals -- Morphology Individuals -- Behavior Individuals
Drought & Water-Ecosystem Services Collection	Off
Conservation Targets Under Global Change Collection	Off
Big Data Collection	Off
Editor's Choice	No
Audience	Undergraduate upper division 15-16 Undergraduate lower division 13-14
Pedagogical Use Description	This photograph can be used to illustrate shorebirds, Red Knots, or foraging for prey.
Keywords	bird, foraging, bivalve, communication, information
Key taxa	Red Knot, Calidris canutus
Life science discipline (subject)	Ecology
Primary Author Controlled Name	Jan van de Kam
Primary Author Affiliation	Netherlands
Primary Author email	n/a
Rights	Copyright 2006 by the Ecological Society of America.
Resource Editor	Unknown
Reviewer A	Unknown
Reviewer B	Unknown
Date Of Record Submission	2008-04-07

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