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.
Marine environment
Stony shores, shore ends, coastal rock fields, breakwaters of ports and jetties.
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.
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.
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.
- Calaburras Lighthouse
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 01. Málaga - Rincón de la Victoria
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 03. Vélez-Málaga - Torrox
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 30. Estepona - Marbella
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 31. Marbella - Ojén
- Mouth of the Guadalhorce Nature Reserve
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |