Surfbird

Aphriza virgata

Surfbird along the Oregon coast, 25 June 2001

A special thank you to Mr. Paul Slichter, a teacher at Gresham High School, Gresham, Oregon for allowing us to use this excellent image of a Surfbird.  

The surfbird is about 10" tall with a Speckled brown-gray above, rusty sholders, speckled below, stubby body, yellowish legs and white wing & tail patches.  They move in large flocks and can be found on rock & gravel beaches, often with Black Turnstones.   They nest in the Alpine tundra of interior Alaska.    They spend the winters along the coasts from southeastern Alaska to Tierra del Fuego.   The Surfbird migrate along the Pacific coast.