knot, in zoology, any of several large, plump sandpiper birds in the genus Calidris of the subfamily Calidritinae (family Scolopacidae). The common knot (C. canutus), about 25 cm (10 inches) long including the bill, has a reddish breast in breeding plumage (hence another name, robin sandpiper); in winter it is plain gray. It breeds on dry, stony Arctic tundra and migrates great distances along the coasts of all continents; some winter as far south as Australia and New Zealand. Knots are highly sociable and stand almost body-to-body on the shore, moving like a carpet of birds as they feed. The great, or Asiatic, knot (C. tenuirostris) is a rare species in Siberia.