Ruddy Turnstone (GTM Research Reserve Bird Guide)

Ruddy Turnstone

Arenaria interpres

Summary ⁶

The Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) is a small wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae. It is a highly migratory bird, breeding in northern parts of Eurasia and North America and flying south to winter on coastlines almost worldwide. It is the only species of turnstone in much of its range and...

Taxon biology ⁷

For a wader, turnstones have short legs. They don't look for their food in the mud or water, but between stones. They thank their name to the fact that they turn over stones while looking for food. They are truly worldy citizens; you find them almost everywhere. They nest from the end of May on rocky islands along the coast and on tundra in the Arctic region. They migrate south at the beginning of June. In the Netherlands, you can see them almost the entire year along the coast, but in particular during migration season and in the winter. 'Our' winter turnstones nest mostly in Greenland or Canada.