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Ruddy Turnstone : Ruddy Turnstone Uyarr’uyaq The Ruddy turnstone is a bird to remember. In fact, I can recall the very first time I saw this striking sandpiper. During the spring migration of 1980 my wife and I were ambling along the beach near Hooper Bay when a mixed flock of turnstones and other shorebirds landed near us and began feeding. A number of the turnstones had rusty-red markings on their back and wings and reminded me a little of the stunning color pattern of the Harlequin duck. I quickly reached into my pack for my bird book and identified them as Ruddy turnstones. What an appropriate place to find these birds, since their scientific name is Arenarius interpres, which liberally translates as, “the bird that warns others of danger in sandy places.” We watched them as they dashed on their stumpy legs after the retreating waves, flipping over pebbles and shells and snagging the invertebrates that tried to scurry away. Since then I have also seen Ruddy turnstones on their breeding ground, which is usually in open tundra near stone-studded creeks and rivers. Here they continue to live up to their name and turn over stones in search of insects and their larvae, worms and anything else that may be hiding underneath. They will successfully dislodge even quite large stones, straining against them with what has been described as a crowbar-like bill, eventually rolling them over by pushing against them with their barrel chest. If a stone is too firmly embedded to be removed with its bill or chest, it will try digging out the supporting sand or even enlist the aid of its mate or neighbor to accomplish its purpose. This bullish little sandpiper especially lives up to its reputation while nesting, flying aggressively at intruders either winged or otherwise, and always turning back any would-be advances on its nest. In the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge I’ve seen gyrfalcons, ravens and jaegers try to fly within 500 feet of a Ruddy turnstone’s nesting territory and be quickly and energetically forced to take another route. Look in your bird book and you’ll see why two Yupik names for the bird are Uyarr’uyaq and Uyarruyuaq. These names both refer to its unique bib-like necklace, unlike the markings on any other North American bird. The Ruddy turnstone has another rather unique characteristic. Just before the eggs are laid in spring both male and female develop a brood patch, which is the featherless part of their underbelly that during the breeding season develops a rich supply of blood vessels, thus assuring an adequate source of heat for incubating the eggs. The fact that the male has a brood patch, too, means that he shares in the responsibility of incubation. Only the female builds the nest, though, which is a shallow depression sparsely lined with leaves and grasses. She lays four black-splotched olive-green eggs, and in a little over three weeks they are all ready to hatch together. The downy hatchlings almost immediately leave the nest and follow their father to food. Both parents help care for the young but they feed themselves and quickly grow in size and feathers to where in three more weeks they are able to finally take flight. Before this happens, however, their mother leaves special guard duty entirely up to her mate and she takes off for southern climes. Seems unmotherly, even unusual, but such are the customs of the Ruddy turnstone. Another unique aspect of this sandpiper is the number of common English names it has. To wit: Bishop plover, brant-bird, bead-bird, calico bird, calico jacket, checkered snipe, chicken, chicken plover, common turnstone, horsefoot snipe, jinny, king-crab bird, red-legged plover, red-legs, rock bird, rock plover, sand runner, sea dotterel, sea quail, sparked-back, stone-pecker, streaked-back, chuckatuck and creddock. The last two are names that derive from their call. Another Yupik name for the bird that I gathered in Hooper Bay is Kiuk’aq and probably also relates to the sound of its call. » List of Yupik Birds

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