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Kentish Plover - BirdForum Opus

Revision as of 13:41, 27 August 2011 by Wintibird (talk | contribs) (split of Snowy Plover)
Photo by tarabilla
Almeria, Spain
Charadrius alexandrinus

Identification

15-17 cm

  • Upperparts greyish brown
  • Underparts white
  • Black legs

Female: has a grey head, lacking any black markings

Distribution

Female
Photo by Mark Bruce
Old salt ponds, Budai area, Taiwan, November 2008

Found in Europe, Africa and Asia east to Indonesia.

Taxonomy

Subspecies1

Juvenile
Photo by charelli
Brouwersdam, The Netherlands, December 2007
  • C. a. alexandrinus:
  • C. a. dealbatus:
  • C. a. seebohmi:

Snowy Plover from the Americas was formerly considered conspecific.

White-faced Plover: a full species?
Photo by martinuk
Laem Pak Bia, Phetchaburi Province, Thailand, March 2011

A form discovered in southeast Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, China) and commonly named White-faced Plover may belong to this species or form a full species. It seems that this birds were originally described as dealbatus, a name that later was accidentally transferred to the dealbatus subspecies of today.

Habitat

Sandy coasts and brackish inland lakes, and is uncommon on fresh water.

Behaviour

Breeding

It nests in a ground scrape and lays 3-5 eggs.

Diet

Diet includes insects and other invertebrates.

Vocalisation

<flashmp3>Charadrius alexandrinus (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program

References

  1. Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
  2. Avibase
  3. Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728
  4. Birdforum thread discussing AOU NACC proposal to split Snowy Plover and other taxonomic changes

Recommended Citation

External Links


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