Ruddy Turnstone
Arenaria interpres
Shorelines. Chestnut above with black and white about head, neck and breast; white below.
Allied Waders, Sandpipers
LC
Not Endemic
Description
Common summer visitor. Characterised by long body, hunched, head-in shoulders appearance, horizontal stance and striking plumage pattern; all stages between full breeding and non-breeding plumages occur. In flight reveals extensive white back and wing-bars. Flight or contact call ‘ktuk-a-tut’. Flocks of five to 20 frequent coastal mudflats and shorelines, especially rocky shores; occasionally on inland waters. Feeds by turning over small stones, shells, caked mud and debris. If flushed, flies off low.
Quick Facts
Size
22 cm - M
Names
A: Steenloper
Ss: Lekitinyane
G: Steinwälzer
Bird Family
A group of small birds usually found along shorelines and wading in shallow water. They usually have longish legs and bills for probing mud, feeding on small insects and invertebrates. Species breed in northern regions and during this time the males assume richly coloured plumage. They migrate south in drab non-breeding plumage at the start of the southern hemisphere summer. Illustrations depict the species in non-breeding plumage, unless otherwise indicated.
Distribution
Gallery
Behaviour
Breeding
Habitat
Flocks of five to 20 frequent coastal mudflats and shorelines, especially rocky shores; occasionally on inland waters.
