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Bird Photos: Rarities: Ruff at Abbott's Lagoon
Point Reyes National Seashore, Marin County,
CA
This Ruff was first reported at Abbott's Lagoon
on about 9/9/04. It is an Old World species that breeds from Northern
Europe to the Asian Arctic. It typically winters in parts of Western
Europe, the North African coast, the mid- to Southern African
continent, coastal areas of the Middle East and India, and the
Southeastern coast of Austrailia. Although vagrants are found
regularly in small numbers along the West Coast of North America,
there are rarely (never?) found in their unique breeding plumage.
This is probably in part because the vagrants that we see are
usually juvenile birds.
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I took these photos on 9/10/04.
Ruffs have a unique appearance among the typical variety
of Western shorebirds. They are a medium-sized to large
shorebird with a long neck, a small head, and a bill that's
shorter than that of most other larger shorebirds. The buff-
to white-edged wing coverts, scapulars, back feathers, and
tertials add to its distinctive appearance. Its medium-length
legs can be dull to bright yellow, to orange. In a way,
they appear to be a large, stretched out version of a Buff-breasted
Sandpiper.
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Here, it's walking with a much lower profile with its neck retracted
into an S-shape giving it an entirely different appearance.
It was reported on an email list and the
Northern California BirdBox as a female, as well as a male.
Males average 20% larger than females, but assessing a Ruff's
size in the absence of a reference bird for comparison is
a challenge.
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This shot may be of use.
The Marbled Godwit in the background can provide some size
reference. The Ruff is obviously smaller than the godwit,
but this may not be enough information.
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| Here's the Ruff in relation
to a Semipalmated Plover, which is more peep-sized. This
size comparison may still be not enough information to use
for determining the sex of this individual. A dowitcher
or yellowlegs would be the best comparison.
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This is the Ruff with a dowitcher...
trust me. The Ruff is on the left, note the scalloped appearance
and the slightly longer legs with the belly clear of the
water; and the dowitcher, having the shorter legs, has its
belly in the water. This is actually a useful image because
you get a fairly good comparison of body mass, which appear
to be very similar in size. Therefore, this is a female
Ruff, or a Reeve.
You can see a Ruff and a Reeve on this
page.
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| Here's the Ruff in foraging
posture. It looks like a Yellowlegs in this feeding posture.
The feeding action was not quite like a yellowlegs. This
bird moved more slowly. The comparison with yellowlegs is
a good way to determine sex of Ruffs. The males are close
in body size to Greater Yellowlegs, and the Reeves are closer
in mass, but slightly larger than, Lesser Yellowlegs.
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