Ruff Call MP3s
A distinctive Ruff vocalization useful for identifying this lekking wader on passage, drawing on its unmistakable display-ground behavior.
Also known as
Recordings (3)
About this species
The Ruff (Philomachus pugnax) is a migratory wader (shorebird) of around 30 cm — the breeding male astonishing, sporting an extravagant feathered ruff and head-tufts at the lek. It gathers on wet meadows, floodlands and the margins of shallow marshes.
It is largely silent away from the breeding grounds, the drama reserved for its visual lek. It takes insects, worms and seeds gleaned from damp ground. Males gather at traditional leks to display their ruffs in ritual mock-combat. On passage it threads through the wetlands of Greece and the Mediterranean each spring and autumn, a classic bird of the open marsh.
Legal use
The Ruff (formerly Philomachus pugnax, now Calidris pugnax) is protected across most of Europe, including the UK, but has remained on France's official list of huntable species (Arrêté du 26 juin 1987, as amended) under the name "chevalier combattant" or "combattant varié" — a listing conservation groups have repeatedly challenged given the species' broader decline and its Annex I (protected) status under the EU Birds Directive. Its breeding range lies mainly in the sub-Arctic and northern Eurasia, with major wintering grounds in Africa and southern Asia where hunting regulation is inconsistent or unenforced. Given this patchwork, the species' declining population, and ongoing legal pressure on France's own listing, verify current legal status in your specific country before hunting; see our full country-by-country disclaimer.