Ruddy Turnstone

Arenaria interpres (Linnaeus, 1758)

22–24 cmLength47 cmWingspan136 gWeight

It is a stocky shorebird with clown-like black-and-white markings and short orange legs, often turning stones to find food.

Busiest months: May · Most records: United States, United Kingdom, Canada

Near Threatened

How to identify

Field marks

Legs short and bright orange
Head white with black facial pattern in the breeding season
Breast black with white patches on either side in the breeding season
Bill dark, wedge-shaped and slightly upturned

Male, female and young

Female slightly duller, with a browner, more heavily streaked head; juvenile has a pale brown head and pale feather edges on the back giving a scaly appearance.

Voice

Short, intermittent, quacking calls; chattering alarm calls are given mainly in the breeding season.

Where and when it's recorded

Ruddy Turnstone has been recorded at 2,444 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 193 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Fort De Soto ParkUnited States17,298 records
Bolivar Flats Shorebird SanctuaryUnited States7,216 records
Barnegat Lighthouse SPUnited States6,959 records

More places

Ocean City InletUnited States6,457 records
Titchwell Marsh RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom5,552 records
Huguenot Memorial City ParkUnited States5,163 records
St. Paul IslandUnited States5,161 records
Txingudi – PlaiaundiSpain4,643 records
Rollover PassUnited States4,455 records
San Carlos Bay/Bunche Beach PreserveUnited States4,429 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United States United Kingdom Canada Portugal Spain China Australia Costa Rica

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres) is a small cosmopolitan wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Ruddy Turnstone?

The Ruddy Turnstone is about 22–24 cm long, with a wingspan of 47 cm and weighs around 136 g.

Where does the Ruddy Turnstone live?

Its breeding range: North America, Palearctic: high and low Arctic tundra of coastal Holarctic. It is most often recorded in United States, United Kingdom and Canada.