Overview
For waders their build is stocky, with short, slightly upturned, wedge shaped bills. They are high Arctic breeders, and are migratory. Their strong necks and powerful, slightly upturned bills are adapted to their feeding technique. As the name implies, these species overturn stones, seaweed, and similar items in search of invertebrate prey. They are strictly coastal, prefer stony beaches to sand, and often share beach space with other species of waders such as purple sandpipers. Their appearance in flight is striking, with white patches on the back, wings and tail.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Bird
- Family
- Charadriidae
- Genus
- Arenaria
- Species
- interpres
Habitat
Coastal waters.
Diet
It eats mainly insects and crustaceans, but also parts of aquatic plants, and will scavenge on a variety of foods.
Behavior
The call is a staccato tuck- tuck- tuck.
Hunting
More information is needed.
Conservation Status
Listed as Least Concern by IUCN.