This shorebird is easy to spot because of its long, bright yellow legs. It can be seen in the company of the lesser yellowlegs; the two look very similar.

It overwinters in coastal marshes on the Atlantic coast and travels through Québec on its way to the sub-Arctic tundra or boreal forest to nest.

Before the adoption of legislation protecting migratory birds, hunting caused a sharp decline in many species of shorebirds, like this one.

Its name comes partly from its harlequin-like plumage with reddish-brown markings. But it is called “turnstone” because it flips over stones, shells, algae and other objects on shore in search of the insects, molluscs and small crustaceans it feeds on. 

Some ruddy turnstones migrate between the Arctic tundra and southern oceanic shores of Americas via the St. Lawrence River.