Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Either of two shorebirds of the genus Arenaria, especially the ruddy turnstone.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A small grallatorial bird of the genus Strepsilas, allied both to plovers and to sandpipers: so called from its habit of turning over little stones or pebbles on the sea-shore in search of food.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) Any species of limicoline birds of the genera Strepsilas and Arenaria, allied to the plovers, especially the common American and European species (
Strepsilas interpres ). They are so called from their habit of turning up small stones in search of mollusks and other aquatic animals. Called alsobrant bird ,sand runner ,sea quail ,sea lark ,sparkback , andskirlcrake . - noun the California turnstone (
Arenaria melanocephala ). The adult in summer is mostly black, except some white streaks on the chest and forehead, and two white loral spots.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Either of two species of coastal
wading bird , Arenaria interpres and Arenaria melanocephala. They breed in theArctic and readily turn stones or seaweed looking for hiddeninvertebrates .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun migratory shorebirds of the plover family that turn over stones in searching for food
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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However, there is no doubt that mangroves of this ecoregion are crucial to several long-distance bird migrants including ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres), spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularia), and whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) that utilize them as feeding and resting places from August through April during their extraordinary intercontinental journey.
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Species such as red knot ( '' Calidris canutus '') and ruddy turnstone ( '' Arenaria interpres '') are inferred to have had much larger populations and more extensive breeding areas during glacial stages, although others, such as dunlin ( '' C. alpina ''), exhibit evidence of range fragmentation during glacial stages leading to the evolution of distinct geographically restricted infraspecific taxa.
Late-Quaternary changes in arctic terrestrial ecosystems, climate, and ultraviolet radiation levels 2009
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Several migratory wader species are regular visitors to the island, principally are double-banded dotterel Charadrius bicinctus, eastern golden plover Pluvialis dominica, turnstone Arenaria interpres, whimbrel Numenius phaeopus and bar-tailed godwit Limosa lapponica.
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With the caveat that I'd have absolutely no chance of knowing much about the American avifauna, my guess would be a turnstone Arenaria sp.
What is this bird? AYDIN 2007
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Dunlin and turnstone augur us where, how and when best as to burial of carcass, fuselage of dump and committal of noisance.
Finnegans Wake 2006
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And besides the land birds, Gould felt he had looked at some other new species, including a gull, a heron, and a turnstone.
The Song of The Dodo David Quammen 2004
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And besides the land birds, Gould felt he had looked at some other new species, including a gull, a heron, and a turnstone.
The Song of The Dodo David Quammen 2004
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The commonest messenger birds named in Hawaiian stories are the plover, wandering tattler, and turnstone, all migratory from about April to August, and hence naturally fastened upon by the imagination as suitable messengers to lands beyond common ken.
The Hawaiian Romance Of Laieikawai Martha Warren Beckwith 1915
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The turnstone, when surrounded by comrades belonging to more energetic species, is a rather timorous bird; but it undertakes to keep watch for the security of the commonwealth when surrounded by smaller birds.
Mutual Aid; a factor of evolution Petr Alekseevich Kropotkin 1881
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Even now I think with pity of one particular turnstone.
The Foot-path Way Bradford Torrey 1877
bilby commented on the word turnstone
Quite expected this to be some kind of industrial equipment.
January 26, 2016