CreatureData

Black turnstone

Arenaria melanocephala (Vigors, 1829)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The black turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala) is a species in the family Scolopacidae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 114.5 g to 129.6 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Black turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala)
Photo: Jason Crotty · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the black turnstone

Weight
114.5 g – 129.6 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
48 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
9 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
coastalsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
21.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
4src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Migratorysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the black turnstone?

BLACK TURNSTONE · WINGSPAN 48 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 48 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the black turnstone is about 28% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the black turnstone live?

Not recorded

What is the black turnstone?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The black turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala) is a species of small wading bird. It is one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria, the ruddy turnstone (A. interpres) being the other. It is now classified in the sandpiper family, Scolopacidae, but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family, Charadriidae. It is native to the west coast of North America and breeds only in Alaska.

From the Wikipedia article “Black turnstone” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_turnstone&oldid=1380656398), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the black turnstone endangered?

The black turnstone is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the black turnstone classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyScolopacidae
  6. genusArenaria
  7. SpeciesArenaria melanocephala (Vigors, 1829)

Synonyms Charadrius melanocephalus, Morinella melanocephala, Strepsilas melanocephalus

Other names and names in other languages (43)
  • قبرة الماء السوداءArabic
  • Черноглав камъкообръщачBulgarian
  • Morfedenn zuBreton
  • remana-rocs foscCatalan
  • Remena-rocs foscCatalan
  • kamenáček černohlavýCzech
  • Kameňáček černohlavýCzech
  • cwtiad du'r traethWelsh
  • Sort StenvenderDanish
  • SchwarzkopfsteinwälzerGerman
  • Schwarzkopf-SteinwälzerGerman
  • Μαύρος χαλικοκυλιστήςGreek
  • nigra ŝtonturnuloEsperanto
  • Vuelvepiedras negroSpanish
  • Vuelvepiedras oscuroSpanish
  • ciilmakCentral Yupik
  • qiuracetaaqCentral Yupik
  • must-kivirullijaEstonian
  • مرغ ریگ سیاهPersian
  • alaskankarikukkoFinnish
  • Tournepierre noirFrench
  • mrki kameničarCroatian
  • kormos kőforgatóHungarian
  • Voltapietre neroItalian
  • クロキョウジョシギJapanese
  • juodoji akmenėLithuanian
  • melnais akmeņtārtiņšLatvian
  • Tsénáhideeníłí łizhinígííNavajo
  • zwarte steenloperDutch
  • SvartsteinvendarNorwegian Nynorsk
  • svartsteinvenderNorwegian
  • kamusznik czarnogłowyPolish
  • rola-do-mar-fuscaPortuguese
  • rola-do-mar-pretaPortuguese
  • vira-pedras-pretoPortuguese
  • Чёрная камнешаркаRussian
  • kamenár čiernohlavýSlovak
  • Crna šljuka kamenjarkaSerbian
  • svart roskarlSwedish
  • Kara TaşçevirenTurkish
  • крем’яшник чорнийUkrainian
  • 黑翻石鷸Chinese
  • 黑翻石鹬Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the black turnstone

Other species in the same genus Arenaria.

CompareBlack turnstone vs Ruddy turnstone

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the black turnstone?

An adult black turnstone weighs 114.5 g – 129.6 g and has a wingspan of 48 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the black turnstone endangered?

The black turnstone is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the black turnstone?

The black turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala) belongs to the family Scolopacidae in the order Charadriiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Black turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-turnstone

MLA

“Black turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-turnstone.

BibTeX
@misc{black_turnstone_2026,
  title = {Black turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-turnstone},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}