Hooded Plover - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by FelixWilson
Crescent Bay, Tasmania, October 2004

Alternative name: Hooded Dotterel

Thinornis cucullatus

Charadrius cucullatus
Thinornis rubricollis
Charadrius rubricollis''

Identification:

Juvenile
Photo © by Ken Doy
Orford, Tasmania, 26 January 2023

• 7.5-9 in (19-23 cm) length
• Red bill with a black tip
• Red eye-ring
• Black head, white collar
• Back pale grey-brown
• Lower neck, side of breast black
• Broad white wing bar in flight

Distribution

Coastal southern Australia, Tasmania and islands in Bass Strait.

The population is currently in decline and is listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Near Threatened.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Clements recognizes these subspecies[1]:

• T. c. tregellasi: coastal and inland southwestern Western Australia
• T. c. cucullatus: coastal south-central South Australia to southeastern New South Wales (south-central and southeastern Australia) and Tasmania

Habitat

Mostly found on sandy Ocean beaches, but less frequently found on coastal and inland salt lakes.

Behaviour

Breeding

Photo © by Ken Doy
Edge of the World, Tasmania, 6 January 2023

The nest is a shallow scrape in the sand. Two to three eggs are laid and incubated for 27-31 days.

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, M. Smith, and C. L. Wood. 2024. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2024. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. BirdLife International
3. Birds Australia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Hooded Plover. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 4 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Hooded_Plover

External Links

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