Species: Arenaria melanocephala
Black Turnstone
Species
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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Aves
Order
Charadriiformes
Family
Scolopacidae
Genus
Arenaria
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
Tournepierre noir - Vuelvepiedras Negro
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Shorebirds
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Charadriiformes - Scolopacidae - Arenaria
Ecology and Life History
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
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-11-26
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-26
Other Status
LC - Least concern
Distribution
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)