Species: Arenaria melanocephala

Black Turnstone
Species
    Kingdom
    Animalia
    Phylum
    Craniata
    Class

    Aves

    Order

    Charadriiformes

    Family

    Scolopacidae

    Genus

    Arenaria

    Classification
    Other Global Common Names
    Tournepierre noir - Vuelvepiedras Negro
    Informal Taxonomy
    Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Shorebirds
    Formal Taxonomy
    Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Charadriiformes - Scolopacidae - Arenaria
    Migration
    true - true - true - Begins migrating north along California coast in early April.
    Non-migrant
    true
    Locally Migrant
    true
    Food Comments
    Feeds along rocky coasts. Feeds on slugs, mollusks, and crustaceans. Inspects seaweeds for small marine animals. May also eat berries (Bent 1929).
    Reproduction Comments
    Breeds from early May to late July. Four eggs incubated for 21 days (probably incubated by both sexes since both have incubation patches) (Terres 1980). Nestlings are precocial.
    Ecology Comments
    Breeding density in optimal conditions is 1.11 birds/ha (Handel and Gill 1992). <br><br>Kelp restoration along the California coast apparently has enhanced local wintering population through augmented feeding substrate (algal wrack) (Condor 95:372-376).
    Length
    24
    Weight
    134
    NatureServe Global Status Rank
    G5
    Global Status Last Reviewed
    1996-11-26
    Global Status Last Changed
    1996-11-26
    Other Status

    LC - Least concern

    Conservation Status Map
    <img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.BC=__&US.AK=S4&US.CA=__&US.OR=__&US.WA=__" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
    Global Range
    G - 200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles) - G - BREEDS: locally along western and southern Alaska coast (see map in Handel and Gill 1992); 85% (61,000-99,000 birds) nest on the central Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta; about 15,000 others nest elsewhere (Handel and Gill 1992); nonbreeding birds may be found in summer in wintering range. WINTERS: south-coastal and southeastern Alaska south along Pacific coast to southern Baja California and central Sonora, Mexico (AOU 1983).
    Global Range Code
    G
    Global Range Description
    200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
    ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.106575