# Ruddy turnstone (*Arenaria interpres*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/ruddy-turnstone  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres) is a bird in the family Scolopacidae and the order Charadriiformes, also called the turnstone, pond bird, turn-stone or calico-back. It is a small, migratory bird of coastal habitats, with an adult body mass of 136 g and a wingspan of 47 cm. Classed as an aquatic predator and a carnivore, it forages terrestrially, and checklists record it in Australia. It lays 4 eggs per clutch, one clutch per year, with an incubation period of 21.9 days, and it is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 110.3 g – 136 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 47 cm |
| Lifespan | 17 years |
| Diet | Aquatic predator |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 21.4 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | coastal |
| Egg incubation | 21.9 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 4 |
| Age at maturity | 24 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Near Threatened (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | 1 country |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Charadriiformes
- family: Scolopacidae
- genus: Arenaria
- species: *Arenaria interpres* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Arenaria cinerea*, *Charadrius cinclus*, *Charadrius interpres*, *Cinclus interpres*, *Morinella collaris*, *Morinella interpres*, *Strepsialis collaris*, *Strepsilas borealis*, *Strepsilas collaris*, *Strepsilas interpres*, *Strepsilas marinus*, *Strepsilas minor*, *Strepsilus interpres*

## Countries on record

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

Australia

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the ruddy turnstone?

The ruddy turnstone is a bird in the family Scolopacidae, order Charadriiformes. It is a small, migratory bird of coastal habitats.

### How heavy is a ruddy turnstone?

An adult ruddy turnstone weighs 136 g, and its wingspan is 47 cm.

### What does the ruddy turnstone eat?

The ruddy turnstone is classed as an aquatic predator and a carnivore.

### Is the ruddy turnstone endangered?

No. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, which is not an IUCN threatened category.

### How long does a ruddy turnstone live?

The ruddy turnstone has a lifespan of 17 years, with values up to 21.4 years reported.

### How many eggs does the ruddy turnstone lay?

The ruddy turnstone lays 4 eggs per clutch and one clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 21.9 days, and it reaches sexual maturity at 2 years.

### Which countries is the ruddy turnstone recorded in?

Checklists record the ruddy turnstone in Australia.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/ruddy-turnstone