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  • Turnstone

Turnstone

Turnstone (summer plumage)
Turnstone (summer plumage)
Turnstone (winter plumage)
Turnstone (winter plumage)
  • Scientific name: Arenaria interpres
  • Bird family: Sandpipers, snipes and phalaropes
  • UK conservation status: Amber
  • Protected by The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

Turnstone call audio

Your browser does not support this audio feature.

Herman van der Meer, Xeno-canto

Key information

Smaller than a redshank, turnstones have a mottled appearance with brown or chestnut and black upperparts and brown and white or black and white head pattern, whilst their underparts are white and legs orange. They spend most of their time creeping and fluttering over rocks, picking out food from under stones.

What they eat:

Insects, crustaceans and molluscs.

Measurements:

Length:
21-24cm
Wingspan:
50-57cm
Weight:
85-150g

Population:

UK breeding is the number of pairs breeding annually. UK wintering is the number of individuals present from October to March. UK passage is the number of individuals passing through on migration in spring and/or autumn.
UK wintering:
48,000 birds

Identifying features:

This bird species has different identifying features depending on sex/age/season.

Turnstone (summer plumage)

Turnstone, summer plumage
Feather colour: Black Brown Orange White
Leg colour: Orange
Beak: Black Medium length Medium thickness
Natural habitats: Marine and intertidal Wetland

Turnstone (winter plumage)

Turnstone, winter plumage
Feather colour: Black Brown White
Leg colour: Orange
Beak: Black Medium length Medium thickness
Natural habitats: Marine and intertidal Wetland

Similar birds:

Ringed plover, summer plumage
Ringed plover

Where and when to see them

Turnstones can be found around the UK coastline. Likes rocky shores as well as sandy and muddy ones. Particularly likes feeding on rocks covered with seaweed, and will feed along seawalls and jetties.

* This map is intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.
  • Resident
  • Passage
  • Summer
  • Winter
Turnstone distribution map

Turnstones are present for most of the year. Birds from Northern Europe pass through in July and August and again in spring. Canadian and Greenland birds arrive in August and September and remain until April and May. Non-breeding birds may stay through the summer.

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RSPB reserves

  • RSPB Balranald

Video

Footage of a turnstone in its coastal habitat.

Footage of a turnstone in its coastal habitat.

Turnstone video screenshot

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