---
title: "Vira-pedras-preto"
description: "Arenaria melanocephala — Aves. The black turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala) is a species of small wading bird."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/pt/animal/black-turnstone
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Vira-pedras-preto

> Arenaria melanocephala — Aves. The black turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala) is a species of small wading bird.

- Scientific name: *Arenaria melanocephala*
- Category: `birds` (Aves)
- Habitats: `sea` (Mar e costa)
- iNaturalist observations: 12692
- Wikidata: [Q618751](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q618751)
- iNaturalist taxon: [3941](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/3941)

## Names

- en: Black Turnstone
- de: Schwarzkopf-Steinwälzer
- es: Vuelvepiedras negro
- fr: Tournepierre noir
- nl: Zwarte steenloper
- pt: Vira-pedras-preto
- pl: Kamusznik czarnogłowy

## Countries with the most observations

US (9514), CA (2511), MX (217)

## Summary

The black turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala) is a species of small wading bird. It is one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria, the ruddy turnstone (A. interpres) being the other. It is now classified in the sandpiper family, Scolopacidae, but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family, Charadriidae. It is native to the west coast of North America and breeds only in Alaska.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_turnstone

## Photo

![Vira-pedras-preto](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/black-turnstone/medium.jpg)

Photo: Emily Langdon-Lassagne · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/150504861

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/black-turnstone?lang=pt` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).