ruddy turnstone

(′rəd·ē ′tərn′stōn)

(vertebrate zoology) Arenaria interpes. A member of the avian order Charadriiformes that perform transpacific flights during their migration.

---

Arenaria interpres

SUBFAMILY

Arenariinae

TAXONOMY

Tringa interpres Linnaeus, 1758, Gotland, Sweden. Two subspecies.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

French: Tournepierre à collier; German: Steinwälzer; Spanish: Vuelvepiedras Común.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

8.3–10.2 in (21–26 cm); 0.18–0.42 lb (84–190 g). Black and white head, neck, throat, and chest; rufous-chestnut upperparts with black-brown patches; white underparts. Female has more streaking on crown, a brownish nape, duller upperparts, and pale flecks on the breast patch.

DISTRIBUTION

A. i. interpres: northeast Canadian Arctic, Greenland, north Eurasia and northwest Alaska, wintering western Europe, Africa, South Asia, Australasia, South Pacific islands, and Pacific coast of North America; A. i. morinella: northeast Alaska and Arctic Canada; winters from South Carolina and Gulf of Mexico to Chile and north Argentina.

HABITAT

Breeds on stony coastal plains, marshy slopes and flats, and tundra; winters on rocky and stony coasts, sandy beaches with seaweed, and exposed reefs.

BEHAVIOR

Relatively tame; often in flocks.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Gleans insects, crustaceans, mollusks, worms, echinoderms, fish, and carrion; sometimes birds' eggs. Flips over stones, shells, and seaweed with bill, catching prey thus exposed; pushes large objects with breast; scavenges frequently.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Monogamous and solitary. Lays May–July. Nests are open or concealed in hummocky vegetation; clutch contains two to four eggs; incubation 22–24 days; fledges at 19–21 days.

CONSERVATION STATUS

No significant decreases in numbers reported.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

None known.

Arenaria interpres 8-10″ (20-25 cm). A squat, robust, orange-legged shorebird, with a harlequin pattern. In breeding plumage, with its russet back and curious face and breast pattern, the bird is unique, but in flight it is even more striking. Winter adults and young birds are duller, but retain enough of the basic pattern to be recognized.

Voice: A staccato tuk-a-tuk or kut-a-kut; also a single kewk.

Range: Arctic, sub-Arctic; circumpolar. Winters coastal U.S., Hawaii, s. Eurasia to S. Hemisphere.

Habitat: Beaches, mudflats, jetties, rocky shores; in summer, tundra.

---