- Charadrius alexandrinus
Identification
15-17.5 cm (6-7 in)
- Upperparts greyish brown
- Underparts white
- Black legs
Female: has a grey head, lacking any black markings
Similar Species
Other similar Charadrius species lack the white hind collar and black patches on the sides of the breast.
Distribution
Found in Europe, Africa and Asia east to Indonesia.
Taxonomy
Snowy Plover from the Americas was formerly considered conspecific.
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 these birds were originally described as dealbatus, a name that later was accidentally transferred to the dealbatus subspecies of today.
Subspecies
There are 3 subspecies1:
- C. a. alexandrinus:
- Western Palearctic to north-eastern China; winters to Africa, southern Asia, Indonesia
- C. a. dealbatus:
- Southern Japan, Ryukyu Island and eastern China; winters to Philippines, Borneo
- C. a. seebohmi:
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
Gallery
Click images to see larger version
Chick
Photo © by Shantilal Varu
Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India, April-2018
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728
- Birdforum thread discussing AOU NACC proposal to split Snowy Plover and other taxonomic changes
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Kentish Plover. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 15 January 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Kentish_Plover
External Links
