"threats during migration and winter. They estimate that the Canadian population is 100,000–500,000 adults. The Canadian Wildlife Service estimates that the worldwide population of ruddy turnstones is 449,000, and that 235,000 are breeding in North America while the rest are breeding throughout the Arctic regions. They are very common and widespread. Their remote breeding range and widespread winter range should help them remain a common species. Ruddy turnstone The ruddy turnstone (""Arenaria interpres"") is a small wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus ""Arenaria"". The scientific name is from Latin. The genus name ""arenaria"" derives from"
"applies. The black turnstone (""Arenaria melanocephala"") has a similar structure to its widespread relative, but has black upperparts and chest, and white below. It has a much more restricted range than the ruddy turnstone, breeding in western Alaska, and wintering mainly on the Pacific coast of the United States. There exists a fossil bone, a distal piece of tarsometatarsus found in the Edson Beds of Sherman County, Kansas. Dating from the mid-Blancan some 4-3 million years ago, it appears to be from a calidriid somewhat similar to a pectoral sandpiper, but has some traits reminiscent of turnstones. Depending on which"
"and powerful, slightly upturned bills are adapted to their feeding technique. As the name implies, these species overturn stones, seaweed, and similar items in search of invertebrate prey. They are strictly coastal, prefer stony beaches to sand, and often share beach space with other species of waders such as purple sandpipers. Their appearance in flight is striking, with white patches on the back, wings and tail. The ruddy turnstone (or just turnstone in Europe), ""Arenaria interpres"", has a circumpolar distribution, and is a very long distance migrant, wintering on coasts as far south as South Africa and Australia. It is"
"and breast become largely dark brown with little white. Juveniles are similar to winter adults but browner with buff fringes to the wing-coverts and scapulars and a grey-brown tip to the tail. The ruddy turnstone is similar but has rufous-brown markings on the upperparts and more white on the head and breast, particularly in breeding plumage. It has narrower wings and a narrower white wingbar. Its legs are orange and brighter than those of the black turnstone though there can be some overlap. The black turnstone has a variety of calls, especially a rattling trill which can be heard throughout"
"to specific locations. A study published in 2009 examined turnstones wintering along a stretch of coastline in the Firth of Clyde. It found that 95% of birds resident to the area at the end of winter returned the following autumn. The same study also confirmed ruddy turnstones as one of the longest lived wader species, with annual adult mortality rates of under 15%. Their average lifespan is 9 years with 19 years and 2 months being the longest recorded. It is a monogamous bird and pairs may remain together for more than one breeding season. The nest is a shallow"
"have to pay a hefty toll. Unlike the flesh and blood Troll of Scandinavian folklore that turn to stone only when exposed to daylight, Disc trolls are stone all the time, but become dormant and sluggish during daylight. Trolls are made of ""metamorphorical rock"" (a play on metamorphic rock and metaphorical), which means that trolls take on some of the appearance and characteristics of certain stones and minerals, after which they are usually named. The most extreme example of this is the pitiful troll Brick in the novel ""Thud!"", Ankh-Morpork born and bred, who took on the appearance of the"
"mainly responsible for incubating the eggs but the male may help towards the end. The young birds are precocial and are able to leave the nest soon after hatching. They are buff above with dark grey markings and are white below. They are able to feed themselves but are protected by the parents, particularly the male. They fledge after 19–21 days. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the ruddy turnstone population is currently very stable. Environment Canada surveys suggest that they have in fact decreased in abundance relative to the 1970s, and face a variety of"
"is painted to have the plumage pattern of a neighbouring turnstone. Ruddy turnstones can survive in a wide range of habitats and climatic conditions from Arctic to tropical. The typical breeding habitat is open tundra with water nearby. Outside the breeding season, it is found along coasts, particularly on rocky or stony shores. It is often found on man-made structures such as breakwaters and jetties. It may venture onto open grassy areas near the coast. Small numbers sometimes turn up on inland wetlands, especially during the spring and autumn migrations. In terms of wintering sites, ruddy turnstones are particularly faithful"
"their level of dominance. A lowered tail and a hunched stance is associated with chasing and aggression, and thus a dominant individual. Dominance in aggression is age-related, with juveniles assuming the subordinate role a disproportionate amount of the time. The plumage patterns of ruddy turnstones exhibit an unusual amount of variation in comparison with other shorebirds. Turnstones use these unique plumage patterns to recognize individuals and discriminate intruders in their territory from neighbours occupying an adjacent territory. When a fake fiberglass turnstone model is placed in a turnstone's territory, the occupant is less likely to respond aggressively if the model"
"coasts. In Africa, it is common all the way down to South Africa with good numbers on many offshore islands. In Asia, it is widespread in the south with birds wintering as far north as southern China and Japan (mainly in the Ryukyu Islands). It occurs south to Tasmania and New Zealand and is present on many Pacific islands. Some non-breeding birds remain year round in many parts of the wintering range, with some of those birds still taking on breeding plumage in the spring and summer. The ruddy turnstone has a varied diet including carrion, eggs and plant material"
"live-action film. These Meteorbs are renegade members of the Rock People who can transform from meteors to animal forms. They are portrayed as pets rather than equal members of the Evil Warriors. The Mutant Warrior was the only all-new toy-made character from the 2002 toyline until the appearance of the King Grayskull figure. It is a skeleton monster, with a hollow chest which can be filled with slime. It was included with the Mutant Slime Pit playset. Exclusive to the Classics toyline, Gygor is a super-strong gorilla-like creature with yellow fur and green skin who is the Lord of the"
"to provide wisdom in more worldly matters. Trollkin sorcerers are born albino. Trollkin living in the wilds usually worship either the goddess Dhunia or the Devourer Worm. Thought to be the embodiment of the Devourer Wurm, dragons are malicious demigods that bring nothing but desolation and waste wherever they roam. Toruk, the progenitor of his species, was named the Dragonfather. Though the source or birth of this dragon is unknown, his power comes from a stone known as an Athanc. This stone, virtually indestructible, will revive him regardless of what happens to his body. In the event of absolute annihilation"
"on the fertility. Turoń In Polish folklore, Turoń (Turuń, Toruń) is a kind of festive monstrosity in the form of a black, horned and shaggy animal with a flopping jaw. Its appearance can be noticed at folk events during the period after Christmas, yet most likely in times of Carnival and before the Lent begins. the name is dereved from the word ""tur"", i.e., ""aurochs"". A person that played the role of Turoń, covered himself with a cloth sheet or sheep skin, holding a wooden pole in front of him, ended with a bull’s head with flopping jaw, horns (sometimes"
"and animals. The tangie plays a major role in the Shetland legend of Black Eric, a sheep rustler. The tangie he rode gave him supernatural assistance when he raided and harassed surrounding crofts. In his final battle with crofter Sandy Breamer, Black Eric fell to his death in the sea. The tangie then continued to terrorize the area, particularly the young women he was hoping to abduct. Tangie A tangie (or ""tongie"") is a shape-shifting sea spirit in the folklore of the Orkney and Shetland Islands in the British Isles. A sea horse or merman, it takes on the appearance"
"Turoń In Polish folklore, Turoń (Turuń, Toruń) is a kind of festive monstrosity in the form of a black, horned and shaggy animal with a flopping jaw. Its appearance can be noticed at folk events during the period after Christmas, yet most likely in times of Carnival and before the Lent begins. the name is dereved from the word ""tur"", i.e., ""aurochs"". A person that played the role of Turoń, covered himself with a cloth sheet or sheep skin, holding a wooden pole in front of him, ended with a bull’s head with flopping jaw, horns (sometimes real ones –"
"upperparts with black mottling and a dark head with little white. Juvenile birds have a pale brown head and pale fringes to the upperpart feathers creating a scaly impression. Birds of the subspecies ""morinella"" are smaller with darker upperparts and less streaking on the crown. The ruddy turnstone has a staccato, rattling call and also a chattering alarm-call which is mainly given during the breeding season. The ruddy turnstone breeds in northern latitudes, usually no more than a few kilometres from the sea. The subspecies ""A. i. morinella"" occurs in northern Alaska and in Arctic Canada as far east as"
"Tristan Tristan (Latin & Brythonic: ""Drustanus""; ), also known as Tristram or Tristain, is a knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend and the hero of the Tristan and Iseult story. Tristan made his first recorded appearance in the 12th century in British mythology circulating in the north of France and the Kingdom of Brittany, which had close ancestral and cultural links with the English counties of Cornwall and Devon by way of the ancient British kingdom of Dumnonia, as made clear in the story itself, and the closely related Cornish and Breton languages. Although the oldest stories concerning"
"Thunderbird (cryptozoology) Thunderbird is a term used in cryptozoology to describe large, bird-like creatures, generally identified with the Thunderbird of Native American tradition. While the fossil record does show that giant birds (teratorns) with wingspans between were likely contemporary with early man, the creature is generally regarded as a myth. This article deals with modern sightings (the last 200 years) of such a creature, reported as real, as opposed to mythological accounts, though believers in the phenomenon often use the Native American legends in attempts to support their claims. On April 26, 1890 the ""Tombstone Epitaph"" carried a story about"
"Tonstein Tonstein (from the German ""Ton"", meaning clay, plus ""Stein"", meaning rock) is a hard, compact sedimentary rock that is composed mainly of kaolinite or, less commonly, other clay minerals such as montmorillonite and illite. The clays often are cemented by iron oxide minerals, carbonaceous matter, or chlorite. Tonsteins form from volcanic ash deposited in swamps. Tonsteins occur as distinctive, thin, and laterally extensive layers in coal seams throughout the world. They are often used as key beds to correlate the strata in which they are found. The regional persistence of tonsteins and relict phenocrysts indicate that they formed as"
"calidrids' closest relatives are the two species of turnstone, and if the calidrids were to be considered one or two tribes Calidriini and/or Arenariini, and/or subfamily Eroliinae, the turnstones would be included in it. A fossil bone, a distal piece of tarsometatarsus, was found in the Edson Beds of Sherman County, Kansas. Dating from the mid-Blancan some 3-4 million years ago, it appears to be from a calidrid somewhat similar to a pectoral sandpiper, but has some traits reminiscent of turnstones. Depending on which traits are apomorphic and plesiomorphic, it may be an ancestral representative of either lineage. It might"
"of the game, the tarrasque is listed as an ""abomination"" and classed as a ""Gargantuan elemental magical beast""—a living engine of death and destruction created by a primordial race for use as a weapon against the gods. Rob Bricken from io9 named the tarrasque as the 10th most memorable D&D monster. The tarrasque appeared in Paizo Publishing's book ""Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary"" (2009), on page 262. Tarrasque (Dungeons & Dragons) In the ""Dungeons & Dragons"" role-playing game, the tarrasque ( ) is a magical beast. The tarrasque is a gigantic lizard-like creature which exists only to eat, kill, and destroy."
"Cockatrice A cockatrice is a mythical beast, essentially a two-legged dragon or serpent-like creature with a rooster's head. Described by Laurence Breiner as ""an ornament in the drama and poetry of the Elizabethans"", it was featured prominently in English thought and myth for centuries. The cockatrice was first described in its current form in the late fourteenth century. The ""Oxford English Dictionary"" gives a derivation from Old French ""cocatris"", from medieval Latin ""calcatrix"", a translation of the Greek ""ichneumon"", meaning tracker. The twelfth century legend was based on a reference in ""Pliny's Natural History"" that the ""ichneumon"" lay in wait"
"for over . Fecal material and other evidence obtained were tested and confirmed to be those of a lynx. No visual confirmation was made, however. Lynx have not been seen in Yellowstone since 1998, though DNA taken from hair samples obtained in 2001 confirmed that lynx were at least transient to the park. Other less commonly seen mammals include the mountain lion and wolverine. The mountain lion has an estimated population of only 25 individuals parkwide. The wolverine is another rare park mammal, and accurate population figures for this species are not known. These uncommon and rare mammals provide insight"
"which has also led Goulven Peron to propose to see 'OUSILLA' as a particular reading of 'DRUSTANVS'. Tristan Tristan (Latin & Brythonic: ""Drustanus""; ), also known as Tristram or Tristain, is a knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend and the hero of the Tristan and Iseult story. Tristan made his first recorded appearance in the 12th century in British mythology circulating in the north of France and the Kingdom of Brittany, which had close ancestral and cultural links with the English counties of Cornwall and Devon by way of the ancient British kingdom of Dumnonia, as made clear"
"to get at the contents within. Ruddy turnstones engage in a variety of behaviours to locate and capture prey. These behaviours can be placed into six general categories: There is evidence that turnstones vary between these feeding behaviours based on individual preference, sex, and even social status with respect to other turnstones. In one studied population, dominant individuals tended to engage in routing while preventing subordinates from doing the same. When these dominant individuals were temporarily removed, some of the subordinates started to rout, while others enacted no change in foraging strategy. When foraging, turnstones adopt different postures indicative of"
"Tarrasque (Dungeons & Dragons) In the ""Dungeons & Dragons"" role-playing game, the tarrasque ( ) is a magical beast. The tarrasque is a gigantic lizard-like creature which exists only to eat, kill, and destroy. In most campaign settings, only one tarrasque is said to exist on each world. The tarrasque has a low intelligence and cannot speak. It is neutrally aligned, for despite its violent and savage nature, it lacks the mental capacity to choose between good and evil. The tarrasque was introduced to the ""D&D"" game in the first edition of ""Advanced Dungeons & Dragons"". It is based upon"
"mountain general, fire general, turtles, vertical wolf, donkey, enchanted badger, flying horse, angry boar, violent bear, liberated horse, barbarians, center master, roc master, horseman, soldiers (except: rook, ram’s-head, spear and sword), wing general, wind general, wood general, great master and roaring dog. Several pieces can ""jump"", that is, they can pass over any intervening piece, whether friend or foe, with no effect on either. The jumping pieces are the wooden dove, running horse, mountain eagle, phoenix master, kirin master, knight, lion, great stag, vice general, flying cat, mountain falcon, golden bird, flying dragon, phoenix, kirin, turtles, treacherous fox, center master,"
"Cerastes The cerastes (Greek: κεράστης, English: ""cerastēs"", English translation: ""having horns"") is a creature of Greek legend, a serpent that is incredibly flexible—so much so that it is said to have no spine. Cerastae can have either two large ram-like horns or four pairs of smaller horns. The cerastes hides its head in the sand with only the horns protruding out of the surface; this is meant to deceive other animals into thinking it is food. When the animal approaches the cerastes, the cerastes promptly kills it. The legend is most likely derived from the habits of the horned viper,"
"Muroni The muroni (or murony) is a vampire in Wallachian mythology. It has the ability to transform into a variety of different animals. Due to this characteristic, a muroni attack could be very hard to identify and could often be thought of as an animal attack. The only sign that a muroni was there at all was an exceptional amount of blood loss. While the muroni was often thought to be a vampire, it can also be considered a shapeshifter, as it would take on the appearance of animals. The muroni is one of many vampire legends which was believed"
"buffalo, turtles, vertical wolf, side ox, liberated horse, treacherous fox, roc master, vermillion sparrow, horseman, swallow’s wings, side flyer, great master, side monkey, vertical mover, flying ox, vertical pup, vertical horse, dragon horse, dragon king, horned falcon, soaring eagle, roaring dog and lion dog. The hook mover, long-nosed goblin, Capricorn, and peacock can move any number of squares along a straight line, as a normal ranging piece, but may also abruptly change tack left or right by 90° at any one place along the route, and then continue as a ranging piece. Turning a corner like this is optional. The"
"debut from out of the crater of an erupting volcano, and forms the torso & head of the Hyakujuu Gattai Gao Knight giant robot combination. Both Gao Kong and Gao Knight are only seen in the movie, but are not mentioned or seen in the TV series. In the anime-manga series ""Toriko"", the protagonist is a gourmet hunter whose job is to travel around the world to hunt the most delicious animals and creatures. One of the first animals Toriko faces is a group of giant four-armed gorillas named Trollkongs that are led by an elder and even larger one"
"Raijū Raijū (, ""thunder animal"" or ""thunder beast"") is a legendary creature from Japanese mythology. Its body is composed of lightning and with the form of a white and blue wolf (or even a wolf wrapped in lightning) being the most common, although it can be represented with other forms such as tanukis, foxes, weasels or cats. It may also fly about as a ball of lightning (in fact, the creature may be an attempt to explain the phenomenon of lightning, such as ball lightning). Its cry sounds like thunder. Raiju is the companion of the Raijin, the Shinto god"
"twists body and soul. It is little wonder that Stormlanders who suffer misfortune are called storm-struck. When caught in the open by a dragon storm, young adults sometimes transform into shape shifters. Elves become unicorns, dwarves become gargoyles and a human might turn into a werewolf or a dragon. After the storm passes, these shape shifters return to their mortal form, and are able to control their ability to change shape. No one understands why some people change, but it is a fearful thing. Shape shifters are magical beings with strange and disturbing powers: Gargoyles can reach through solid stone,"