Male, medium large. Female, medium. Small head, short bill, long legs and long neck. Sexes different.
Male: Breeding: Elongated plumes on head and neck, varying colors of white to black. Upperparts, variable but usually black and chestnut. Wings, dark brown with faint wing bar. Rump, dark brown, Uppertail coverts, dark brown in center, white on sides, forming white ovals. Tail, greyish-brown. Underparts, underwing, white, sometimes with black or rufous on breast and flanks. Bill, dark brown, paler or reddish at base, slightly decurved and tapering to a knob. Facial skin, red to greenish. Eye, dark brown. Legs, pinkish-red to yellow. Non-breeding: Throat, breast, belly, undertail coverts, underwing coverts, white. Feathers at base of bill, white. Upperparts, brownish-grey, feathers with dark centers and tertials with broad dark bars. Eyestrip, dark. Sides of face, neck, breast, mottled with pale brownish-grey and white. Legs, orange red.
Female: Breeding: Upperparts, dark brown, mottled with rufous and buff. Underparts, white, but often has dark patches on breast and flanks. Bill, dark brown, paler or reddish at base, slightly decurved and tapering to a knob. Eye, dark brown. Non-breeding: Throat, breast, belly, undertail coverts, underwing coverts, white. Feathers at base of bill, white. Upperparts, brownish-grey, feathers with dark centers and terials with broad dark bars. Eyestrip, dark. Sides of face, neck, breast, mottled with pale brownish-grey and white. Legs, orange red.
Immatures: Upperparts, dark brown, feathers edged with buff appearing scaly. Underparts, white, with brownish-buff on sides of face, neck, breast, flanks. Legs, yellowish-brown.
Other Names (World)
Ruff, Reeve (female)
Family
Scolopacidae (Sandpipers, Snipes, Phalaropes)
Afghanistan (P), Albania, Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Austria (P), Azerbaijan (P), Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus (B) (P), Belgium (NB) (P), Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria (NB), Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, China (mainland), Congo, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Côte dIvoire, Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska) (B) (P), Cyprus (NB) (P), Czech Republic (NB) (P), Denmark (B) (P), Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Estonia (B) (P), Ethiopia, Finland (B) (P), France (B) (NB) (P), Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany (B) (NB) (P), Ghana, Greece (NB) (P), Grenada, Guam (NB), Guinea, Guinea-bissau, Hong Kong (China), Hungary (B) (P), India, Indonesia, Iran [Islamic Republic of] (P), Iraq (P), Ireland (NB), Israel, Italy (NB) (P), Jordan (NB) (P), Kazakhstan (B), Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan (P), Latvia (B) (P), Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Lithuania (B), Luxembourg, Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (NB), Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands (NB), Mauritania, Micronesia [Federated States of] (NB), Moldova [Republic of] (P), Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro (NB) (P), Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands (B) (NB), Niger, Nigeria, Northern Mariana Islands (NB), Norway (B) (P), Oman, Pakistan, Palau (NB), Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Poland (B) (NB) (P), Portugal (NB), Qatar, Romania (NB) (P), Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B) (P), Russia (European) (B) (NB) (P), Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia (NB) (P), Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia (Slovak Republic), Slovenia (NB) (P), Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain (NB) (P), Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden (B) (P), Switzerland (NB), Syrian Arab Republic, Taiwan (China), Tajikistan, Tanzania [United Republic of], Thailand, Timor-Leste (NB) (P), Togo, Tunisia, Turkey (NB), Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine (B) (NB) (P), United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom (B) (NB) (P), Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Vagrant to Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Barbados, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Dominica, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Iceland, Jamaica, Japan, Laos, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Maldives, Martinique, Mauritius, Mexico, Montserrat, New Zealand, North Korea, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, United States Minor Outlying Islands, USA (B), Venezuela, Virgin Islands (British), Virgin Islands (U.S.).
North-western Europe through Siberia to Chukotskiy Peninsula and Sea of Okhotsk. Winters from Mediterranean and sub-Saharan Africa through Middle East to Indian Subcontinent.
Food
Insects and their larvae, including midges, craneflies and caddisflies. In winter and on migration, flies, beetles, plant material, small fish and worms. Invertebrates procurred in shallow water, wet soil or from grasses.
Voice
A low, 'tu-whit' in contact and alarm. Otherwise mostly silent.
Ruff (Calidris pugnax) [XC484237]
by Lars Edenius from Petropavlovo, Kilemarskiy Rayon, Respublika Mariy El, Russian Federation (call)
Ruff (Calidris pugnax) [XC852294]
by vir joshi from Fraga, Baix Cinca, Arag\u00f3, Spain (call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. Breeds May - August in Arctic - Sub-antarctic marshes and wetlands.
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Nest
A depression in the ground, lined with grass, often concealed in vegetation.
Eggs (Guide)
4; slightly glossy, pale green to grey, boldly blotched with dark brown and purple-grey; pyriform; about 44 x 31 mm. Incubation: 20 - 23 days; by female.
Young
Fledge in 25 - 28 days. Fed by female for the first few days.
Subspecies
Has been proposed for inclusion in Calidris.
No subspecies.
Similar Species
Unmistakable in breeding plumage.
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata)
Smaller. Non-breeding with non-breeding. Eyebrow, white and prominent. Crown, dull chestnut. Lower underparts and flanks, streaked. Bill, also slightly decurved, but pale at base.
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)
Smaller. Non-breeding with non-breeding. Shows sharp cut-off of buff breast markings. Eyebrow, white and prominent. Crown, heavy dark brown or black streaking. Bill, also slightly decurved but olive yellow at base.
Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Calidris subruficollis)
Smaller. Non-breeding with non-breeding. Stockier. Bill, shorter. No eyestripe, eye large. Crown streaked dark brown. Pale diffuse eyering. Walks with head jerking.
Common Redshank (Tringa totanus)
Similar to male, larger than female. Non-breeding with non-breeding. Upperparts, browner. Bill, longer and straight, orange-red at base.
Red Knot (Calidris canutus)
Smaller than male, similar to female. Non-breeding with non-breeding. Neck, shorter. Legs, shorter. Bill, longer and straight. Rump, pale grey with fine barring.
Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris)
Similar to male, larger than female. Non-breeding with non-breeding. Neck, shorter. Legs, shorter. Bill, longer, slightly decurved. Rump, whitish.
Common Redshank (Tringa totanus) is a rare vagrant to Australia. Currently only in north-western Australia.
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Notes
The name Ruff applies to the male. The female is called a Reeve.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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