#0602 · 🐦 birds
Ruff
🇳🇱 Kemphaan ·Calidris pugnax
8 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
what is it?
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.
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- Spotted 848 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
- 35,081 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Weighs only about 170 g.
- Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Ruff
- Nederlands
- Kemphaan
- scientific name
- Calidris pugnax
- class
- Aves
- order
- Charadriiformes
- family
- Scolopacidae
- IUCN Red List
- LC · least concern
- sightings in NL
- 848
- sightings in Europe
- 23,967
- sightings worldwide
- 35,081
- GBIF records in NL
- 281,566
- weight
- 170 g
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1758
IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.
relatives· Scolopacidae
#0570 📷 10Common Redshank
🇳🇱 Tureluur
Tringa totanus
LC 👀 1.9k in NL
#0574 📷 10Black-tailed Godwit
🇳🇱 Grutto
Limosa limosa
NT 👀 1.6k in NL
#0583 📷 8Ruddy Turnstone
🇳🇱 Steenloper
Arenaria interpres
NT 👀 1.3k in NL
#0586 📷 10Eurasian Curlew
🇳🇱 Wulp
Numenius arquata
NT 👀 1.2k in NL
#0599 📷 8Sanderling
🇳🇱 Drieteenstrandloper
Calidris alba
LC 👀 914 in NL
#0615 📷 8Common Snipe
🇳🇱 Watersnip
Gallinago gallinago
LC 👀 582 in NL
#0623 📷 10Common Sandpiper
🇳🇱 Oeverloper
Actitis hypoleucos
LC 👀 481 in NL
#0624 📷 10Dunlin
🇳🇱 Bonte Strandloper
Calidris alpina
NT 👀 480 in NL
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 339593, Wikidata Q28122714, GBIF 8250742, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.