Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Arenaria interpres
Turnstone / Vuelvepiedras común
Maximum size: 23 cm
Habitat
They move in low surf on lonely beaches and marshes. They turn the pebbles up-side-down, algae and other objects they find on the seashore and amongst rocks, looking for sea-invertebrates to eat.
The younger individuals display mottled, dun colours with white dots on their white throats and chest, similar to those of adults. These colours change completely in summer when they get a black eye-mask with a white spot in, and the plumage becomes reddish.
They are scarce in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula and they can only be seen in the migratory corridors, on the beaches and the marshes.
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