Species: Arenaria interpres

Ruddy Turnstone

Species

Birds

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Salish Sea-reliant birds

Terrestrial vertebrates: birds

Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

Classification

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Craniata

Class

Aves

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Scolopacidae

Genus

Arenaria

NatureServe

Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102944

Classification

Other Global Common Names

Vira-Pedra-Ferrugem - Vuelvepiedras Rojizo - tournepierre à collier

Informal Taxonomy

Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Shorebirds

Formal Taxonomy

Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Charadriiformes - Scolopacidae - Arenaria

Ecology and Life History

Migration

false - false - true - In U.S. migrates northward mainly in May, along Atlantic, Great Lakes, and Pacific coast; arrives in Beaufort Sea region beginning mid- to late May. Juveniles, are last to depart breeding areas, begin to migrate south during last half of August and early September; fall migrants common in s. Quebec, Newfoundland, and Maritime Provinces (Johnson and Herter 1989). Migrants common in Costa Rica late March-late May and August-October (Stiles and Skutch 1989). Arrives in northern South America by September, most depart by end of May (Hilty and Brown 1986). Usually flys high, in large flocks, during migration.

Non-migrant

false

Locally Migrant

false

Food Comments

Feeds on crustaceans (amphipods, soft parts of barnacles, fiddler crabs, eggs, etc.) worms, insects and their larvae, and mollusks. Also known to eat berries, tern and spotted sandpiper eggs, and crumbs from picnic areas (Terres 1980). In spring at Delaware Bay, consumes large numbers of horseshoe crab eggs (Castro and Myers 1993, Botton et al. 1994). Forages mainly in intertidal zone; overturns shells, debris, digs into sand (Stiles and Skutch 1989).

Reproduction Comments

Egg laying occurs mainly in mid-June in arctic Canada. Both sexes incubate usually 4 eggs for 21-22 days (Terres 1980). Nestlings are precocial. Young initially are tended by both parents; can fly 24-26 days after hatching.

Ecology Comments

Usually feeds singly or in small numbers (may defend individual feeding territory); may feed with other shorebirds along sandy or rocky beaches. May form large flocks (500 or more) during migration. Sleeps or rests in flocks.

Length

Weight

141

Conservation Status

NatureServe Global Status Rank

Global Status Last Reviewed

1996-11-25

Global Status Last Changed

1996-11-25

Other Status

LC - Least concern

Distribution

Conservation Status Map

Global Range

H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - Circumpolar. BREEDS: northern Alaska and Canadian arctic islands south to western Alaska, and Southhampton, Coats, and Mansel islands, probably also northern Mackenzie and northern Keewatin; Greenland, Iceland, Palearctic. NORTHERN WINTER: coast from central California, Gulf Coast, and New York south through West Indies to southern South America; Pacific islands (common in Hawaii August-May, a few stay all year); Australia, New Zealand, Old World. Nonbreeders may summer in winter range. In South America, by far the most important area is north-central coast of Brazil between Belem and Sao Luis; other important areas include Suriname and French Guiana as well as the northeast coast of Brazil (Morrison and Ross 1989).

Global Range Code

Global Range Description

>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)

ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102944