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Cool Facts |
Photo
taken from:
The
Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America by
David Allen Sibley
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- The Surfbird's winter range is among the longest and narrowest of
any North American breeding bird. During the winter it can be found from
Alaska to the Strait of Magellan, Chile, a distance of more than 17,500
km, and the winter range extends inland only a few meters above the tide
line.
- The Surfbird is usually classified in a genus of its own, as Aphriza
virgata, but recent data suggests it is very close genetically to the
Red and Great Knots and should be included in Calidris genus. Indeed,
the Great Knot looks similar to a larger, longer-billed, somewhat darker
surfbird.
- They remain on the nest until the last moment, and then fly up in
the intruding animal's face, a defense mechanism used on humans as well.
- The USS Surfbird (AM-383) is one of 173 Auk Class minesweepers built
during World War II for service in the United States Navy. She was
eventually decommissioned and sold. Renamed the Helenka B, she was
involved in the March 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill clean up.
- A group of surfbirds are collectively known as a "board" and a "kahuna"
of surfbirds.
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Description |
Adult Description
- Stocky, medium-sized shorebird.
- Short, stout bill, pale at base.
- Legs yellow.
- White tail tipped with broad black band.
- White stripe out wing.
- Rusty on back and breast spotted in breeding plumage.
- All gray in nonbreeding plumage.
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Immature Description
Resembles nonbreeding adult, but head streaked, breast finely barred,
and with pale edges on back feathers. |
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Range Map |
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Taxonomic Hierarchy |
© 2003 Cornell Lab of Ornithology
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Kingdom: |
Animalia |
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Phylum: |
Chordata |
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Subphylum: |
Vertebrata |
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Class: |
Aves |
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Order: |
Ciconiiformes |
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Family: |
Scolopacidae |
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Genus: |
Aphriza |
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Species: |
Aphriza virgata |
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Sound |
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A sharp "pee-weet."
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Identification and
Information
See
Anatomy
of a Bird
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Body |
- Length
Range: 25 cm (10 in)
- Weight:
184 g (6.5 oz)
- Size:
Medium (9 - 16 in)
- Color
Primary: Gray
- Underparts:
White with brown chevrons.
- Upperparts:
Dark gray-brown feathers edged with white
and red-brown.
- Back
Pattern: Scaled or Scalloped
- Belly
Pattern: Spotted or speckled
- Breast
Pattern: Spotted or speckled
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Head |
- Bill Shape:
Dagger
- Eye Color:
Dark brown.
- Head
Pattern: Streaked, Eyering
- Crown Color:
White with heavy black streaking.
- Forehead
Color: White with heavy black streaking.
- Nape Color:
White with heavy black streaking.
- Throat
Color: White with heavy black streaking.
- Cere color:
No Data
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Flight |
- Flight
Pattern: Swift flight with rapid wing
beats.
- Wingspan
Range: 51 cm (20 in)
- Wing Shape:
Pointed-Wings
- Tail Shape:
Fan-shaped Tail
- Tail
Pattern: Banded
- Upper Tail:
White with black terminal band.
- Under Tail:
White with black terminal band.
- Leg Color:
Yellow-green
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Breeding |
- Breeding Location:
Tundra
- Breeding Type:
Monogamous, Gregarious.
- Breeding Population:
Stable, Yes but uncommon
- Egg Color:
Buff with red brown spots
- Number of Eggs:
4
- Incubation Days:
21 - 22
- Egg Incubator:
Both sexes
- Nest Material:
Lined with lichen, leaves, and moss.
- Migration: Migratory
- Condition at Hatching:
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Other Names |
Similar Species |
- Bécasseau du ressac (French)
- Playero de Marejada (Spanish)
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- Wandering Tattler also all gray, but is thinner, has a longer,
thinner bill, bobs its tail, and lacks white tail and wing stripe.
- Black Turnstone has white back, dark legs, and dark head and chest.
- Rock Sandpiper has longer, thinner, slightly drooped bill, dull
legs, and white tail with black tip.
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Conservation Status |
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Few data on population sizes. Appears stable. |
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Habitat |
Sources used to
Construct this Page: |
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Breeds in stony alpine tundra. Winters on wave-beaten rocky shores. |
- Senner, S. E., and B. J. McCaffery. 1997. Surfbird (Aphriza
virgata). In The Birds of North America,
No. 266 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of
Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American
Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.
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Food |
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Aquatic invertebrates and insects. |
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Behavior |
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Runs over rocks chasing prey, moving continuously. Pulls mussels and
barnacles from rocks and swallows them whole. |
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