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Glite Dictionary
turnstone

turnstone

1 9.0
A small bird that lives by the sea and flips stones to find food
  • noun
  • /ˈtɜrnˌstoʊn/
translation icon : vuelvepiedras
  • a ruddy turnstone
  • turnstone and red knot

Examples

  • These turnstones weigh less than four ounces.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Ruddy turnstones look on as a red knot consumes horseshoe crab eggs. Cerulean warbler.

    Academic text (2010)

  • A little file of five semipalmated plovers with two winter plumage ruddy turnstones following march along the gulfside swash, all business, moving at about three hundred per.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The ruddy turnstone searches for food by turning over stones on the beach.

  • During migration, the turnstone can be seen along coastal areas looking for insects and small crustaceans.

  • Birdwatchers often spot the turnstone as it moves quickly along the shoreline, flipping rocks to find food.

Synonyms

Arenaria
vsturnstone
  • Specialized
9.9

A small shore bird that flips stones to find food

is the common name used for those birds rather than the scientific genus

Compounds

ruddy turnstone
1 9.1

A medium shorebird with reddish-brown and black feathers that turns stones to find food

black turnstone
  • US
9.9

A small bird that walks in shallow water with black and white feathers on the Pacific coast

Surface Forms

turnstone singular
turnstones plural

Morphology

turnstone = turn + stone (transparent) = turn + stone

The compound directly describes the bird's behaviour of turning stones to find food, so learners knowing 'turn' and 'stone' can infer the meaning.

Etymology

The word turnstone is made of the parts turn ('to turn') and stone ('stone'). It is named for the shorebird's habit of flipping stones and pebbles on the coast to find food, so the name simply describes what the bird does.