The Flight of the Red Knot [first edition]

A beautifully illustrated book following the extraordinary 18,000-mile annual migration of the Red Knot. Red Knots are in the sandpiper family. They are barely ten inches long and weigh about twenty ounces. Each spring they breed in the Arctic, but in the year that follows they will migrate to the southern tip of South America and back again in their quest for food. Why and how they travel more than 18,000 miles each year, often as many as 2,500 miles nonstop (and at speeds averaging between thirty and forty miles per hour), is the subject of this engrossing and beautifully illustrated book. Based on a popular NOVA series on migration, The Flight of the Red Knot is the story of an ornithological marvel by one of the world's foremost authorities. Here we learn of the marvelous physical equipment of the long-distance flyers, their extraordinary food storage capacity, and the nature of their ever-moving food supply. The methods of research into the Red Knots' life cycle are also described. Bird lovers especially, but also any one interested in nature will love this book. Four-color photos