Ruddy Turnstone

Description:

The Ruddy Turnstone is a stocky medium-sized wader with short orange-red legs. The bill is wedge-shaped and slightly up-tilted. The breast is distinctively marked with black or brown and pale areas, almost like tortoise shell, with a white breast. The brown upperparts turn a rich reddish-brown when breeding and the bands on the face and neck turn black. In flight there is a distinctive black and white pattern. This species is also known as Turnstone, Sea-Dotterel and Calico or Beach Bird.

Habitat:

The Ruddy Turnstone is found singly or in small groups along the coastline and only occasionally inland. They are mainly found on exposed rocks or reefs, often with shallow pools, and on beaches. In the north, they are found in a wider range of habitats, including mudflats.

Notes:

Feeding: Ruddy Turnstones feed busily, by probing, pecking and poking into cracks. They turn over stones and seaweed to find insects, crustaceans, molluscs and spiders. They sometimes eat eggs and carrion (dead things), feeding by day and night. Breeding: They nest on small rocky islands and shores of the far northern hemisphere. The female builds the nest, a shallow depression lined with leaves, usually in the shelter of a rock or bush. The young hatch together and are mobile soon after hatching.