Double-banded Plover - BirdForum Opus

Breeding Plumage
Photo © by Peter Ericsson
Abel Tasman, New Zealand, 14 October 2006

Alternate name: Banded Dotterel

Anarhynchus bicinctus

Charadrius bicinctus

Identification

Non-breeding Plumage
Photo © by Neil Fifer
Sydney, Australia, 15 February 2008

Length: 18–21 cm (7-8¼ in)
Male

• Grey brown upperparts
• White underparts
• Black upper band and wide chestnut lower band across chest
• Black eye mask
• White eyebrow
• Slim, short, black bill
• Green yellow legs

Female

• Duller
• Narrower front bar

Non-breeding

• Chestnut lower band faint or missing
• Head pattern blended

Juvenile

• Similar to non-breeding but with faint buff wash on neck and breast and rufous-buff fringes on mantle.

Variations

Subspecies C. b. exilis of Enderby and Adams Islands in the Auckland group is larger, paler and has longer legs than nominate. Its chest bands are also less distinct and flecked with white.

Subspecies C. b. exilis
Photo © by Joseph Morlan
Enderby Island, Auckland Islands, New Zealand, 6 January 2017

Distribution

Australia, New Zealand and out-lying islands.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 2 subspecies¹:

• A. b. bicinctus:

• Breeds in New Zealand and Chatham Islands; winters to Australasia

• A. b. exilis:

• Enderby and Adams Islands in the Auckland Islands group; resident

Habitat

Beaches, mudflats, river banks, fields, dunes, tussock grasses and shingle. The breeding grounds are usually on inland open, firm, gravel or sand banks.

Behaviour

Photo © by Peter Ericsson
Abel Tasman, New Zealand, 14 October 2006

Diet

The diet includes mainly mollusks, crustaceans, insects, larvae of such items as flies and beetles; some seeds and fruit are taken.

Breeding

They nest in a scrape lined with stones. Both adults incubate the eggs. Lays August to December in lowlands; mid-September (or mid-August) to mid-December, mostly October, in higher areas. Seasonally monogamous. Sometimes double brooded.

Vocalisations

Most common calls are a strident pit! and less emphatic chit. Also a fast rolling che-ree-a-ree.

Gallery

Click on photo for larger image

• 

  Chick
  Photo © by Raikyn
  New Zealand, 3 December 2006

References

1. Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Birds in Backyards
3. Wiersma, P., Kirwan, G.M. & Boesman, P. (2017). Double-banded Plover (Charadrius bicinctus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/53844 on 22 February 2017).
4. Falla, R.A. 1978. Banded Dotterel at the Auckland Islands: Description of a new subspecies. Notornis 25(2): 101-8. http://notornis.osnz.org.nz/system/files/Notornis_25_2.pdf
5. Marchant, S.; Higgins, P.J. (eds) 1993. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic birds. Vol. 2, raptors to lapwings. Oxford University Press, Melbourne.
6. Pierce, R.J. 2013. Banded dotterel. In Miskelly, C.M. (ed.) New Zealand Birds Online. http://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Double-banded Plover. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 27 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Double-banded_Plover

External Links

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