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Bird name:

Ruff

Philomachus pugnaxOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)

Codes: Common Name: Ruff Scientific Name: PHIPUG ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176695

Breeding Location:

Wetlands

Breeding Type:

Promiscuous

Breeding Population:

Accidental in North America

Egg Color:

Gray green or buff with brown spots

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

20 - 23

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Lined with grasses.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Ruff: Large sandpiper with variably-colored neck ruff, back, and breast. Head is orange-brown and belly is white. Bill is orange with dark, drooped tip. Tail has faint wing stripe and oval white patches that are visible in flight. Female has brown head, dark scaled upperparts, dark bars on brown breast, and white belly and undertail coverts. Winter adult has scaled gray upperparts, white belly and yellow legs. Juvenile resembles winter adult but has olive-brown wash over head, neck, and breast.

Range and Habitat

Ruff: Breeds in Eurasia; occasionally nests in northwestern Alaska. Winters mainly in Africa; rare but regular migrant to Hawaii, Alaska, and the east coast of North America. Breeds on lowland grassy wet meadows; winters on wet meadows, muddy fringes of pools and lakes, and brackish coastal lagoons.

Breeding and Nesting

Ruff: Four brown spotted, gray green or buff eggs are laid in a shallow ground depression lined with grass. Incubation ranges from 20 to 23 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Ruff: Feeds on insects, frogs, small fish, and seeds.

Vocalization

Ruff: Emits a low "tu-wit" when disturbed.

Similar Species

Ruff: Male is unmistakable; Pectoral Sandpiper is distinguished from female by cleaner breast demarcation and pale area behind eye; Buff-breasted Sandpiper is smaller than juvenile Ruff and lacks white belly.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Ruff

Ruff: Large sandpiper with variably-colored frilly tufts on the neck that ranges from black to rufous to white to speckled and bared. Female lacks ruff. Head is orange-brown and the belly is white. Bill is orange with dark, drooped tip. Orange-yellow legs. Low, direct flight with rapid wing beats.

● Song: "tu-wit" replaced ' with "

● Foraging & Feeding: Ruff: Feeds on insects, frogs, small fish, and seeds.

● Breeding & nesting: Ruff: Four brown spotted, gray green or buff eggs are laid in a shallow ground depression lined with grass. Incubation ranges from 20 to 23 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Ruff: Male is unmistakable; Pectoral Sandpiper is distinguished from female by cleaner breast demarcation and pale area behind eye; Buff-breasted Sandpiper is smaller than juvenile Ruff and lacks white belly.

Flight Pattern

Direct flight with rapid wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: Ruff: Breeds in Eurasia; occasionally nests in northwestern Alaska. Winters mainly in Africa; rare but regular migrant to Hawaii, Alaska, and the east coast of North America. Breeds on lowland grassy wet meadows; winters on wet meadows, muddy fringes of pools and lakes, and brackish coastal lagoons.

^BreedingPromiscuous

^PopulationAccidental in North America

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight6 Ounces

Undertail coverts

Small feathers that cover the areas where the retrices (tail feathers) attach to the rump.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Belly

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.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Ruff

A fringe of feather growth on the neck of a male bird used in courtship displays.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

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.

Field Guide to Birds of North America

Ruff

Breeding Location:

Breeding Type:

Breeding Population:

Egg Color:

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Nest Material:

Migration:

Recommended Products:

General

Range and Habitat

Breeding and Nesting

Foraging and Feeding

Vocalization

Similar Species

Ruff

Flight Pattern