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Black Turnstone

Arenaria melanocephalaOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)
Codes: Common Name: BLTU Scientific Name: AREMEL ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176574
Least Concern
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Black Turnstone
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Overview

Black Turnstone: Medium sandpiper, scaled black upperparts, white spot between eye and bill, black breast with white speckles on sides, and white belly. Short, dark bill slightly upturned. Back, wings, and rump display a dramatic black-and-white pattern in flight. Swift flight on rapid wing beats.


Range and Habitat

Black Turnstone: Breeds on western and southern coasts of Alaska. Spends winters along the west coast from Alaska south to Baja California and Sonora, Mexico. Breeding habit includes marshy coastal tundra; found on seaweed-covered rocky shores in fall and winter.

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Topo Map: Sandpiper-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

"skirrr"

Interesting Facts

 The Black Turnstone often show strong site and mate fidelity when breeding; nesting at the same exact site with the same mate year after year.

 The female often leaves after two weeks, leaving the remaining parental care to the male.

 A group of sandpipers has many collective nouns, including a "bind", "contradiction", "fling", "hill", and "time-step" of sandpipers.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Santiago Cornejo

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Range Map for Black Turnstone

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Family Sandpiper (Scolopacidae)_blue
Species Arenaria melanocephala
Length9 Inches
Wingspan17.5 Inches

Black Turnstone

Black Turnstone: Medium sandpiper, scaled black upperparts, white spot between eye and bill, black breast with white speckles on sides, and white belly. Short, dark bill slightly upturned. Back, wings, and rump display a dramatic black-and-white pattern in flight. Swift flight on rapid wing beats.

● Song: "skirrr"

● Foraging & Feeding: Black Turnstone: Eats insects, barnacles, crustaceans, and mollusks; uses its wedge-like bill to turn over seashells and rocks while foraging.

● Breeding & nesting: Black Turnstone: Three to four yellow green to olive eggs, with dark brown blotches, are laid in an unlined depression on an open, pebbly ridge or a gravel bar on wet tundra. Incubation ranges from 21 to 24 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Black Turnstone: Ruddy Turnstone is browner and has a pale area within dark breast bands, brighter red legs, and may show traces of rust-brown on back. Surfbird is paler and has yellow legs.

Flight Pattern

Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Black Turnstone Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Black Turnstone: Breeds on western and southern coasts of Alaska. Spends winters along the west coast from Alaska south to Baja California and Sonora, Mexico. Breeding habit includes marshy coastal tundra; found on seaweed-covered rocky shores in fall and winter.
BreedingMonogamous, Colonial
PopulationDeclining
MigrationMigratory
Weight4 Ounces
Sandpiper-like BodyX
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
BellyX
The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.
BreastX
The upper front part of a bird.
RumpX
The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX