Quite large kulik (weight 170-200 g) characteristic «rzhanchoeg» addition: with a short straight beak, large head and comparatively short legs.
Color contrast: bottom in summer intensely black, back with bright white transverse mottles. Black color on the head and neck is bordered by a wide white stripe.
Field signs. Quite large kulik (weight 170-200 g) characteristic «rzhanchoeg» addition: with a short straight beak, large head and comparatively short legs. Color contrast: bottom in summer intensely black, back with bright white transverse mottles. Black color on the head and neck is bordered by a wide white stripe. The outward wing is black, it can be viewed with binoculars. Podhvoste white. There is a back, fourth finger, missing from the other rzhanki. The voice is mournful, but rather melodic: «tuu-li … tuu-li» or «tuirli».
Spread. A rare circumpolar sandpiper. Nests in the tundra zone of Taimyr. Specific facts that specify the northern and southern boundaries of nesting are few, and the subzonal affiliation of the species by different authors is understood in different ways. The northernmost nesting place is the wintering area of the schooner «Dawn» (North-Western Taimyr, 76 ° 08 N). Thules widely breeds in the Taimyr in the subzones of the arctic and typical tundra. Ubiquitous nesting in the subzone of shrub tundra in Taimyr has not yet been proved, although some facts indicate such an opportunity. On the southern border of nesting data is small.
Thules in the Taimyr is a widespread tundra snake, characteristic mainly for the Arctic and northern parts of the subzone of typical tundra. In some cases, it nests in the subzone of shrub tundra and even forest-tundra, where developed dry, elevated tundra areas are developed. On the whole, it is rare and occurs sporadically, with the exception of some areas of arctic tundra that are most favorable to it, where it can be classified as ordinary.
Phenology. Data on phenology are sketchy. On Taymyr, the toles arrive later than in other parts of the tundra zone. In the mouth of the Yenisei appears in the second decade of June, July 20 at Golchikha nest with newly hatched chicks, August 1 on the river. Deep – large chicks the size of the starling, departure from the tundra – from the end of August. Under Krasnoyarsk on the spring migration was not observed, the autumnal span of the Tula is well expressed (by the end of September). On migration flocks of tulezes are kept apart from other rzhanok.
Reproduction. Nest biotope – dry elevated areas of dryland-spotted and grazed-moss-lichen tundra. Tules to monogam. As a rule, they nest scattered and are kept by the whole family in the nesting area, until the chicks grow up. Nest on an open dry area in a pit, barely lined with lichen chips, branches of Ledum and polar willow. Masonry – 4 light eggs with blackish-brown spots. When a person approaches the nest, tholes, like all plovers, express extreme anxiety and from afar greets him with an alarming cry.
Food. Nutrition has been studied little. In the southwestern Taimyr, the basis consists of the Diptera larvae and ground beetles living in the soil. In the stomachs there are frequent larvae of tipulids, single-flying insects.
Number. The population of the species is stable. Thules is a rare bird, with the exception of some parts of the arctic tundra of the North-Western Taimyr, where it can be considered an ordinary species. The average abundance in the arctic tundra and northern part of the subzone of typical Taimyr tundra is 0.4-0.5 individuals / km2. In the most dry dryly-forested-lichen-moss arctic tundra, which are most favorable for tule, in the lower reaches of the river. Lazy (75 ° 16 N) nesting density in places reached up to 6.2-9 individuals / km2.
