Black Turnstone
Arenaria melanocephala (Vigors, 1829)
Scolopacidae — Sandpipers, Snipes
Black Turnstone, Arenaria melanocephala, is a sandpiper in the family Scolopacidae that breeds in coastal western Alaska and also uses rivers, streambeds and lakes there. Outside the breeding season it is found on rocky shores from south-east Alaska to southern Baja California, including the Gulf of California and Sonora. It is a wading bird of the North Pacific coast. The species was described by Vigors in 1829. Its breeding range is centred on Alaska, with most nesting in the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta, and it winters along the Pacific coast of North America.
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae — Sandpipers, Snipes
- Breeding range
- North America: coastal w Alaska, also along rivers, streambeds and lakes
- Nonbreeding range
- rocky coastal se Alaska to s Baja California, Gulf of California, and Sonora (nw Mexico; e North Pacific)
