Collared Plover (Charadrius collaris)

[order] Charadriiformes | [family] Charadriidae | [latin] Charadrius collaris | [UK] Collared Plover | [FR] Pluvier d’Azara | [DE] Schlankschnabel-Regenpfeifer | [ES] Chorlitejo de Azara | [IT] Corriere dal collare | [NL] Kraagplevier

Subspecies

Physical charateristics

This small plover is 18 cm long and weighs 35 g. Its upperparts are brown and the underparts white in all plumages. Adults have a black breast band. The male has a white forehead, bordered above by a black frontal bar, and below by a black stripe from the bill to the eye. The midcrown and nape are chestnut and the legs are yellow. In flight, the flight feathers are dark with a white wing bar, and the tail shows white sides. The flight call is a sharp metallic pip. The female Collared Plover is usually very similar to the male, but some individuals can be sexed by a brown tinge to the black areas. Immature birds lack any black on the head, and the breast band is replaced by brown patches on each side of the chest.

Listen to the sound of Collared Plover

[audio:http://www.aviflevoland.nl/sounddb/C/Collared Plover.mp3]

Copyright remark: Most sounds derived from xeno-canto

Range

Charadrius collaris, is a small wader in the plover bird family. It breeds from Mexico south through Central America and most of South America. It also occurs on some of the southern Caribbean islands, and both Trinidad and Tobago. Quite common in Suriname on sandy beaches.

Habitat

The Collared Plover is found on sandy coasts, estuarine mud, inland riverbanks and open sandy savannas.

Reproduction

It nests in a bare ground scrape above the tide line or inland, and lays two brown-blotched creamy eggs. The male has a ground display in which he chases the female.

Feeding habits

Collared Plover feeds on insects and other invertebrates, which are obtained by a run-and-pause technique, rather than the steady probing of some other wader groups. This species is not particularly gregarious, and seldom forms flocks. It is usually very wary.

Conservation

This species has a large range, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 15,000,000 km2. It has a large global population estimated to be 10,000 individuals (Wetlands International 2002). Global population trends have not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e., declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Migration

It appears to be mainly sedentary, although there is some evidence for limited seasonal movements.

Distribution map