Ruff

The Ruff is one of the most unusual and visually varied shorebirds, named for the extravagant feathered collar males grow in the breeding season. Males are considerably larger than females (known as Reeves), a size difference rare among shorebirds.

Breeding males develop elaborate, individually variable ruffs of long feathers around the neck along with prominent head tufts, in colors ranging from black and white to chestnut and barred patterns — no two males look exactly alike. Outside the breeding season, both sexes are far plainer: brownish gray above, paler below, with a small head, long neck, and a somewhat pot-bellied shape on longish orange-tinted or yellowish legs.

Key field marks

• Marked size difference between larger males and smaller females (Reeves)
• Elaborate, individually variable neck ruff and head tufts on breeding males
• Small head, long neck, and pot-bellied body shape year-round
• Variable leg color, often orange or yellowish-toned
• Nonbreeding plumage plain scaly brown above, whitish below

Similar species

• Pectoral Sandpiper: smaller, more sharply streaked breast band, more uniform body shape without the pot-bellied silhouette.
• Yellowlegs species: brighter yellow legs, more slender build, different bill shape.
• The Ruff's unique body shape — small head, long neck, rounded body — is often the quickest way to pick one out even in nonbreeding plumage.

Habitat

Ruffs favor wet grassy meadows, marshes, and flooded fields rather than open tidal mudflats, often feeding in shallow, vegetated wetlands.

Range and migration

They breed across wet meadows and tundra edges of northern Europe and Asia. Wintering grounds are centered in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, with smaller numbers wintering in parts of Europe and Australia; the species is a rare but regular vagrant to North America.

Behavior

Male Ruffs gather at traditional communal display grounds called leks, where they perform elaborate posturing, wing-quivering, and mock fighting to attract females, who visit the lek solely to choose a mate and then raise the young alone.

Voice

Ruffs are largely silent away from the lek; calls are generally low and infrequent compared to many other shorebirds.

Feeding

They feed on insects, seeds, and other plant material, foraging by walking through wet grass and shallow water while picking food from the surface and probing lightly.

Nesting and breeding

After mating at the lek, females alone build the nest, incubate the eggs, and raise the young with no involvement from males — a breeding system known as lekking, shared with relatively few bird species worldwide.