Ruff: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the ruff lives – recorded in 81 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Calidris pugnax
Group	Waders, gulls, terns & auks
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	81 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania
Mass	21 g (birth weight); 170 g (male organism, adult weight); 102 g (female organism, adult weight)
Class	Bird
Order	Charadriiformes
Family	Scolopacidae

Where does the ruff live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the ruff in 81 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania. Wikidata gives its range as: Nanling Mountains, Africa, Brazil, South America, Burkina Faso.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

How big is a ruff?

Wikidata records the following for the ruff: mass 21 g (birth weight); 170 g (male organism, adult weight); 102 g (female organism, adult weight).

Is the ruff endangered?

The ruff’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the ruff?

The ruff (Calidris pugnax) is a bird in the order Charadriiformes and the family Scolopacidae, genus Calidris. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the ruff

The ruff (Calidris pugnax) is a medium-sized wading bird that breeds in marshes and wet meadows across northern Eurasia. This highly gregarious sandpiper is migratory and sometimes forms huge flocks in its winter grounds, which include southern and western Europe, Africa, southern Asia and Australia.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Ruff (bird) (revision 1380533251), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q28122714 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).