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Ruffs are medium-sized waders. Their plumage is highly cryptic. They are dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. In addition, both sexes have different breeding and non-breeding plumages. In eclipse males and females are quite similar. However note that females are generally much smaller than males. If/when seen together, the sexes can be told apart by their size. Both sexes in eclipse have a grey head, with darker grey striation on cap and the sides and nape of the neck. They have off-white eye-rings and an off-white base to the bill. Also the chin is off-white. The chest is lightly-barred greyish-brown, while the rest of the front is white. The back and wings are dark grey-brown, with lighter brown edge lining. The main distinguishing feature is that males have an orange-brown base to their bill. Breeding females have a light-brown front with darker blotches from chin to chest. On the back the light-brown edges are much broader than in eclipse. Otherwise the plumage remains roughly the same. Breeding males gradually grow black feathers on chest and belly as the breeding season progresses, giving them a spotted front of white with some black, while the lower belly, vent and undertail coverts are off-white to light-grey. The back shows more brown than in breeding females. In addition, and after moulting into the general breeding plumage, males have an extra moult to produce the ear tufts and the fringe of feathers around the neck that gives them their name. Older, well-established males have a black cap with erectile feathers forming black ear tufts and a ruff that is barred brown and black at the front and black when seen from behind. Younger, lower-ranking males on the fringes of a breeding colony/area tend to have grey and white ruffs. This ruff is extensive, covering the entire neck. During the breeding season males have warty orange skin from the base of the bill to the sides of the head, surrounding the eyes. Both sexes have dark irises. Breeding males have an orange-brownish bill, while in eclipse the bill has a dark tip. Females and immature/juvenile birds have a dark-grey bill. The bill of all Ruffs has medium length (similar to the size of the head) and is slightly downcurved. The legs and feet of both sexes are orange-brown; usually the colour is brightest during the breeding season and duller in eclipse. Juveniles have a plain light-brown to creamy front and neck and a cap with dark striation and their back is dark-brown with light-brown to creamy edge lining on the feathers. Juvenile females are in general more brownish than juvenile males and the scalloping on their back is less pronounced than in males.

The correct identification of waders ("shorebirds"), e.g. of the Calidris, Tringa, Actitis and related families or of the Charadrius, Pluvialis and related genera in the field can be quite tricky. We have therefore made an attempt to give some advice HERE.

The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org .

The global distribution of the Ruff is available HERE .

The Ruff is a strongly migratory species. They are found primarily in Eurasia, but also - to a lesser degree - in North America, along both the East and the West coast (hence on all northern continents). Their breeding grounds are located mostly in Arctic Eurasia, but also in temperate climate areas. The birds of the European/western Asian population winter in parts of Africa (along the West and North coast, but also down the Nile valley and throughout East and South Africa). Others stay in Asia Minor, parts of the Middle East and (near-)coastal Arabia. Birds from central/eastern Asia migrate to the border region of Pakistan and India and further down the Indian West coast. Others winter far-eastern and south-eastern Asia; some reach Australia. During their migration they can be found almost anywhere between breeding and wintering grounds.

In Australia the Ruff is an uncommon non-breeding migrant from the North. It is found primarily in near-coastal (but not coastal) wetlands almost around the Australian continent, except the South coast from Eyre peninsula, SA, to the SW tip of WA. Ruffs have also been reported from the lower Murray-Darling basin in the border region of NSW and VIC.

During the breeding season Ruffs have a preference for taiga bogs, marshes, swamps, submerged grassland, but also seashores. Outside the breeding season they are found more generally in any type of wetland with shallow water. In Australia they have a preference for habitats with brackish water, such as estuaries or eutrophic habitats, such as sewage treatment plants.

M. Eaton reports finding a Ruff at the Port of Brisbane, Brisbane, QLD, in December 2018. Another was spotted at Campsite Beach, Roebuck Bay, near Broome, WA, in June 2026. All sighting and photographic information presented on this page has been kindly contributed by M. Eaton.

More information on this species is available from Europe.