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Ruddy Turnstone | Arenaria interpres
Steenloper | Vuelvepiedras Común
The Ruddy Turnstone is a stocky, short-legged wader with a short, wedge-shaped bill with which it flips over stones, shells and seaweed in search of food. It breeds on the tundra all around the Arctic and is a common summer visitor to rocky shores and kelp wrack in southern Africa, particularly on the west coast.
Voice
A fast rattling tuk-a-tuk-tuk or kititititit, especially on take-off, and a short kyuk. Flocks are often heard in flight before they are seen.
Recording: David Darrell-Lambert — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · converted to mono · xeno-canto
Identification
21–24 cm. In non-breeding plumage, the one mostly seen here, dark grey-brown and mottled above with a dark, irregular breast shield reaching up to the throat and a white belly. Before departure in March and April adults already show much breeding plumage: rufous-orange on the back with black stripes and a pied black-and-white face pattern. The bill is black, short and slightly upturned; the short legs are orange-red. In flight a striking pied pattern of white wingbar, white back stripe, white rump and black tail band.
Confusion species
The pied flight pattern and orange legs are unique among the region's waders. Sanderling Calidris alba, with which it often feeds, is much paler, lacks a breast shield and has black legs. Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula also has a dark breast band, but has a rounded plover head, a narrow, sharply defined band and a plain brown back.
Habitat
Rocky shores, kelp wrack on beaches, groynes, harbour walls and the margins of lagoons and estuaries; locally also on saltmarshes and in saltworks. Only exceptionally inland. It flips stones, shells and clumps of weed with the bill and eats sandhoppers, molluscs, insect larvae and carrion.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of southern Africa.
Range and movements
Along the entire coast of the region: numerous in Namibia (Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, Lüderitz) and along the west coast of South Africa to the Cape, in smaller numbers along the south and east coasts into Mozambique and along the coast of Angola. Rare inland, with scattered records at pans and dams. Beyond the region it winters along almost all tropical and southern coasts of the world.
- Resident
- Summer visitor (c. Oct–Mar)
- Passage (Mar–Apr, Oct–Nov)
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Walk a rocky shore or a beach with stranded kelp at low tide: small parties of turnstones work busily through the wrack and often allow a close approach. At Walvis Bay and on the rocks at Swakopmund they can be seen all year, also in the southern winter when immature birds stay behind.
Conservation status
Globally sensitive: the species is listed as Near Threatened because numbers are falling on several flyways. In southern Africa numbers remain fairly stable; disturbance of roosts by recreation and dogs and coastal pollution are the main threats.
Scientific name
Arenaria interpres | (Linnaeus, 1758)
Linnaeus described the species in 1758 as Tringa Interpres; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Arenaria was introduced in 1760 by Brisson. Arenaria is from Latin arenarius 'inhabiting sand', from arena 'sand'. interpres is Latin for 'messenger' or 'interpreter': on Gotland Linnaeus took the Swedish word tolk to apply to this bird, but in the local dialect it means 'legs' and refers to the redshank. The specimen the first description was based on came from Gotland, Sweden.