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Birds

Birds

Common name Ruddy turnstone
Scientific name Arenaria interpres
Type Waterbirds
Status Wintering

Small wader (about 24 cm or 9.5 in), chubby and with orange legs and a short, black, wedge-shaped bill. Brown upperparts and white underparts. White head with a design of black lines that extend mainly through the breast and to a lesser extent through the back. The black design may look like a medallion or a large "x" on the breast. Less showy females. More dull winter plumage. Grey-brown back instead of orange and darkened, grey-stained head.

Habitats

Marine environment

Where it lives

Stony shores, shore ends, coastal rock fields, breakwaters of ports and jetties.

How it lives

Wintering species and present in migratory passage in the coast of Malaga.   It breeds in northern Europe, in tundra wetlands. Nest on the ground. One laying of 4 eggs. The Ruddy Turnstone feeds by looking for mollusks, crustaceans and insects that it searches among stones and pebbles, which it can lift with its bill. Very sociable.

Where it can be seen in Malaga

It can be watched in coastal areas with rock fields or outcrops. Peñón del Cuervo, Punta de Calaburras, coastal section between Marbella and Estepona and mouth of the Guadalhorce.

Curious facts

It is a very grateful species for birders as it is confident and allows a close and entertaining observation due to its behaviour of lifting pebbles.

Present
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Wintering Summer Resident Migration