Ruddy turnstone Ruddy turnstone The ruddy turnstone ("Arenaria interpres") is a small wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus "Arenaria". The scientific name is from Latin. The genus name "arenaria" derives from "arenarius", "inhabiting sand, from "arena", "sand". The specific "interpres" means "messenger"; when visiting Gotland in 1741, Linnaeus thought that the Swedish word "Tolk" "interpreter" applied to this species, but in the local dialect the word means "legs" and is used for the redshank. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae. It is a highly
Turnstone applies. The black turnstone ("Arenaria melanocephala") has a similar structure to its widespread relative, but has black upperparts and chest, and white below. It has a much more restricted range than the ruddy turnstone, breeding in western Alaska, and wintering mainly on the Pacific coast of the United States. There exists a fossil bone, a distal piece of tarsometatarsus found in the Edson Beds of Sherman County, Kansas. Dating from the mid-Blancan some 4-3 million years ago, it appears to be from a calidriid somewhat similar to a pectoral sandpiper, but has some traits reminiscent of turnstones. Depending on which