- Thinornis melanops
Charadrius melanops
Elseyornis melanops
Identification
16–18 cm (6¼-7 in)
Adult
- Black face-mask and breast-band
- Pale brown upperparts
- Chestnut shoulder bar
- White underparts
- Pinkish-orange legs
- Red bill with black tip
- Dark eye ringed red
- Short tail
Juvenile: lacks the breast-band but a brown band appears as the bird matures.
Distribution
Australia (except arid areas), Tasmania and New Zealand.
Taxonomy==
This is a monotypic species[1].
Has, in the past been included in the genus Charadrius[2].
Habitat
Margins of lakes, swamps, dams: less often saline lagoons, rarely coastal.
Behaviour
Movement
Typically runs and pecks when feeding. Fast flyer.
Diet
The diet consists of insects (grasshoppers, crickets, flies, ants, water beetles and larvae) as well as water snails, crustaceans and earthworms.
Breeding
Eggs are laid in a shallow scrape, often on pebbly ground, usually close to water. They may have more then one brood per year. Both parents take responsibility for rearing the young.
References
- 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/
- Avibase
- Birds in Backyards
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Dec 2017)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Black-fronted Dotterel. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 14 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-fronted_Dotterel
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
