Bird
Ruddy Turnstone
Arenaria interpres
A winter visitor to Mississippi, found in 3 of 82 counties and 5 habitats.
- Here
- Winter
- Nesting
- Not known to nest here
- Range
- 3 of 82 counties
- Habitats
- 5

At a glance
- Group
- Birds
- Here
- Winter
- Nesting
- Not known to nest here
- Range
- 3 of 82 counties
- Habitats
- 5
- Habitat models
- Winter
Where it lives
The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.
Habitats in Mississippi 5
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.
Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)
Tidal marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts where the source does not say whether the water is fresh, brackish or salt. A stated salinity files the marsh under freshwater tidal marshes or salt and brackish marshes instead.
Disturbed and introduced wetlands
Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.
Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.
Other habitats in its models (33)
Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Mississippi. Those recorded in Mississippi first, the rest by region.
Elsewhere in the South (23)
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural Lakeshore Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Wooded Swamp Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Sea Island Beach Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Beach Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Winter.
- Central and Upper Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland Winter.
- Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Winter.
- Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter.
- Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
- Louisiana Beach Winter.
- South Florida Mangrove Swamp Winter.
- South Florida Shell Hash Beach Winter.
- Southeast Florida Beach Winter.
- Southwest Florida Beach Winter.
- Texas Coastal Bend Beach Winter.
- Upper Texas Coast Beach Winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Winter.
Northeast (4)
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Sandy Beach Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh Winter.
- Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Sandy Beach Winter.
Land cover and other classes (6)
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Winter.
- Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Winter.
- Unconsolidated Shore Winter.
- Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Winter.
Seasons in Mississippi
- Winter: does not nest here, in 3 of 82 counties.
Also found in its main habitats
Its main habitats in Mississippi, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.
Coastal dunes and beaches
Birds 127
- Black-throated Green WarblerDendroica virens
- Sooty TernOnychoprion fuscatus
- Black-bellied PloverPluvialis squatarola
- Marbled GodwitLimosa fedoa
- Rock PigeonColumba livia
- Short-billed DowitcherLimnodromus griseus
- Horned LarkEremophila alpestris
- KilldeerCharadrius vociferus
- Nelson's Sharp-tailed SparrowAmmodramus nelsoni
- Purple MartinProgne subis
- Red KnotCalidris canutus
- Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensis
Plants 118
- Beach Morning-gloryIpomoea imperati
- Ipomoea cordatotriloba var. cordatotrilobaIpomoea cordatotriloba var. cordatotriloba
- Northern Seaside SpurgeEuphorbia polygonifolia
- Southern Seaside SpurgeEuphorbia bombensis
- Mound-lily YuccaYucca gloriosa
- Agalinis harperiAgalinis harperi
- Panicum amarum var. amarumPanicum amarum var. amarum
- Rough American Barnyard GrassEchinochloa muricata var. muricata
- Northern Seabeach OrachAtriplex mucronata
- Atriplex cristataAtriplex cristata
- Dune Marsh-elderIva imbricata
- Pinewoods FingergrassEustachys petraea
Disturbed and introduced wetlands
Birds 158
- Black TernChlidonias niger
- Bronzed CowbirdMolothrus aeneus
- DickcisselSpiza americana
- Bell's VireoVireo bellii
- Black-bellied PloverPluvialis squatarola
- BobolinkDolichonyx oryzivorus
- Cackling GooseBranta hutchinsii
- Chestnut-sided WarblerDendroica pensylvanica
- Magnolia WarblerDendroica magnolia
- Northern Saw-whet OwlAegolius acadicus
- Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis
- Rufous HummingbirdSelasphorus rufus
Plants 26
- Slender FimbryFimbristylis autumnalis
- Intermediate Spike RushEleocharis intermedia
- Purple SpikerushEleocharis atropurpurea
- Blue MistflowerConoclinium coelestinum
- BagpodGlottidium vesicarium
- Cyperus ochraceusCyperus ochraceus
- False DaisyEclipta prostrata
- Blunt Spike RushEleocharis obtusa
- Bristly SedgeCarex comosa
- Shortbeak BeaksedgeRhynchospora nitens
- Southern Marsh YellowcressRorippa teres
- Sensitive FernOnoclea sensibilis
Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)
Birds 89
- Marbled GodwitLimosa fedoa
- Short-billed DowitcherLimnodromus griseus
- American Tree SparrowSpizella arborea
- KilldeerCharadrius vociferus
- Nelson's Sharp-tailed SparrowAmmodramus nelsoni
- Red KnotCalidris canutus
- Seaside SparrowAmmodramus maritimus
- Wilson's PloverCharadrius wilsonia
- Common TernSterna hirundo
- Piping PloverCharadrius melodus
- American OystercatcherHaematopus palliatus
- American White PelicanPelecanus erythrorhynchos
Plants 30
- Annual Saltmarsh AsterSymphyotrichum subulatum
- Sandpaper VervainVerbena scabra
- Dwarf ArrowheadSagittaria subulata
- Black NeedlerushJuncus roemerianus
- Carolina Sea-lavenderLimonium carolinianum
- Southern Water-hempAmaranthus australis
- Shoreline SedgeCarex hyalinolepis
- Pink RedstemAmmannia latifolia
- Solidago sempervirens var. mexicanaSolidago sempervirens var. mexicana
- Grassy ArrowheadSagittaria graminea
- Giant BristlegrassSetaria magna
All of coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated) in Mississippi
Sources
- USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models (2001)
- USGS GAP winter habitat model for Ruddy Turnstone Brackish or salt water only
- USGS Gap Analysis Project range maps (2001), modeled by watershed; migratory gives no dates
- NatureServe Explorer (CC BY 4.0), habitat names
- US Census TIGER/Line counties
- Names follow the USGS Gap Analysis Project (2001)















































