Surfbird Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  A stout shorebird with a short, thick bill, short neck, short tail, and short, thick legs.

  Relative Size

  Larger than a Black Turnstone, smaller than a Black-bellied Plover.

  robin-sized

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 9.4-10.2 in (24-26 cm)
    • Weight: 4.7-8.1 oz (133-230 g)

  © Matt Brady / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  Breeding adults are stippled light, dark, and rufous above. The head and underparts are white, neatly marked with black streaks and arrowhead-shaped markings on the breast and belly. Nonbreeding plumage is muddy brownish gray with whitish chin, white belly with some streaking. The tail is white at the base, with a bold black tip. Legs are greenish yellow; base of bill is yellow. Juveniles are paler than nonbreeding adults, with feathers above showing narrow pale edges.

• Behavior

  Forages by walking along on rocks, seizing prey (often mollusks) with the bill, yanking them free, and swallowing them whole. Also forages by touch in algae, wrack, sand, and mudflats.
• Habitat

  Nests in high slopes of rocky alpine tundra in interior Alaska. Winters along Pacific coast in rocky environments, sometimes foraging also on mudflats or beaches.