- Charadrius marginatus
Identification
16-18 cm. Medium brown upperparts, white hind neck collar, white forehead extending back in a conspicuous wedge between the eye and the crown, black line through the eye, black frontal bar to the crown, white underparts with a variable cream or buff breast; there may be rufous patches on the breast sides. The bill is black and the legs yellowish-grey.
Distribution
Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar.
Taxonomy
Subspecies1
- C. m. mechowi - Africa s of Sahara to n Angola, Botswana and Mozambique
- C. m. marginatus - S Angola to sw Cape Province
- C. m. arenaceus - S Mozambique to s Cape Province
- C. m. tenellus - Madagascar
Habitat
Sandy beaches.
Behaviour
The eggs are laid directly into the sand and may be buried.
The diet includes insects, crustaceans and worms.
References
- Clements, James F. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2008. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019
