The Black Turnstone ( Arenaria melanocephala ) is a rugged, stocky sandpiper that perfectly embodies the wild spirit of the Pacific coast. While many shorebirds are known for their delicate, needle-like bills, the Black Turnstone is built like a tiny construction worker, using its chisel-like beak to flip, hammer, and pry its way to a meal. The Rugged Resident of the Rocky Shore
: A stout, robin-sized bird with short legs and a slightly upturned, wedge-shaped bill. black turnstone
: In winter, they are a dark, smoky blackish-brown that blends seamlessly into the wet, seaweed-covered rocks of the Pacific Northwest. The Black Turnstone ( Arenaria melanocephala ) is
They hatch in the high-latitude marshes of western and northern Alaska, specifically the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Pairs are remarkably loyal, often returning to the exact same nesting site with the same mate year after year. Consider the Black Turnstone, a Master of Camouflage : In winter, they are a dark, smoky
: They are among the few shorebirds strong enough to hammer or pry open barnacles, limpets, and mussels from wave-washed rocks.
Unlike its world-traveling cousin, the Ruddy Turnstone, the Black Turnstone keeps a strictly local profile, sticking almost exclusively to the western edge of North America.