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RUDDY TURNSTONE FACTS |
Description
The Ruddy Turnstone is a wading bird that visits Australia in summer. It has a grey brown back and wings with black mottling. The head is brownish and streaked with white. The breast is dark, becoming black in the breeding season. The underside is white. the bill is long and wedge-shaped bill and the legs are orange and fairly short. Females are similar to males but duller, with browner head. In the breeding season the males are more reddish brown with black markings, and the head is whiter with black streaks.
Size
length 22cm - 24cm
Habitat
rocky shores, beaches, estuaries, mudflats, reefs
Food
Aquatic invertebrates, insects, birds eggs.
Breeding
The nest is a shallow scrape in the ground, usually lined with leaves. It is placed in vegetation or on bare stony ground. Lays two to five (commonly four) pale greenish brown eggs with dark brown markings. eggs hatch after about 22 to 24 days.
Range
The Ruddy Turnstone is a summer visitor around the coast of Australia. It breeds along the arctic coast of North America, Greenland, northern Europe and Asia. In the northern hemisphere winter in migrates to warmer southern parts of the world including Australia.
Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Classification
| Class: | Aves | | Order: | Charadriiformes | | Family: | Scolopacidae | | Genus: | Arenaria | | Species: | interpres | | Common Name: | Ruddy Turnstone |
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