The Ruff is a medium sized wader and member of the Calidridinae family. Males have a length of 26–32 cm while females are 20–25 cm long, males weigh 180 g while females weigh 110 g. The species has a small head with a low sloping forehead, enhancing its drawn out facial appearance. It has a long neck, bulky deep-bellied body which is often hunched back. The legs are short to medium in length, the bill is slightly decurved. At rest the folded primaries are level with the tip of the tail. The males of the species are close in size to the Common Greenshank, Tringa nebularia, while the females (referred to as Reeve(s)) are similiar to the Ruddy Turnstone, Arenaria intepres. There is a marked seasonal variation in plumages, with the juveniles being distinctive and the immatures separable.
Ruff (Reeve) |
Philomachus pugnax
Government evidence of impact of climate change:
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Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Species Profile and Threats Database, Philomachus pugnax
Threats Top Global Threats There are a number of threats that affect migratory shorebirds in the Flyway.
Global warming and associated changes in sea level are likely to have a long term impact on the breeding; staging and non breeding grounds of migratory waders (Harding et al. 2007).
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