Credit: Andrew Reding
North American field guide
Black Turnstone
Arenaria melanocephala
Explore this bird
Identification
Field notes
24 cm (9") Common. Pacific coast rocky shores, breakwaters.
Black head and chest, white belly. Legs are dark reddish brown.
Breeding: white eyebrow stripe and white spot between bill and eye, white speckling on side of breast.
In flight: boldly patterned black and white.
Song: rattling guttural calls.
Details in the field
Photo gallery
Credit: Andrea Pokrzywinski
Credit: David Hofmann
Credit: Chuq Von Rospach
Credit: Len Blumin
Credit: Bill Bouton
Where it lives
Distribution maps
Source legend · original intervals
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Unshaded in source · does not imply absence
Generic and winter maps may use different intervals.