Family Plovers (Charadriidae)
Least Concern
Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus)
Taxonomy
French: Pluvier à collier interrompu German: Seeregenpfeifer Spanish: Chorlitejo patinegro
Taxonomy:
Charadrius alexandrinus
Linnaeus
, 1758,Egypt
.
Subspecies and Distribution
C. a. alexandrinus
Linnaeus, 1758 – E Atlantic Is, N Africa (S to Senegal) and W Europe E through Mediterranean, NE Africa, Middle East and SW & C Asia to Russian Far East, NE China and Japan; winters S to sub-Saharan Africa, S Asia and W Indonesia.
C. a. nihonensis
Deignan, 1941 – Sakhalin and S Kuril Is.
C. a. seebohmi
E. J. O. Hartert & A. C. Jackson, 1915 – SE India and Sri Lanka.
Descriptive notes
15–17·5 cm; 32–56 g; wingspan 42–45 cm. Differs from most similar species by white collar on hindneck; black patches on sides of breast, black bar on... read more
Voice
Rather silent. Most-frequently heard calls a short fairly soft “pit” or doubled “pidup”, sometimes... read more
Habitat
Chiefly sea coasts, but also open flats near brackish or saline lakes, lagoons, seasonal water... read more
Food and feeding
Inland takes mainly insects, such as beetles and flies, also crustaceans, molluscs and spiders; in brackish and saltwater, chiefly... read more
Breeding
Laying mid Apr to May in NW Europe; Mar–Jun in NW Africa (e.g. Morocco); Jan to early Jun in Cape Verde Is, Feb–Jul in Ethiopia... read more
Movements
Nominate race mainly migratory N of 40° N, dispersive and resident to S, e.g. in Arabia;... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Nominate race: c. 62,000–70,000 birds winter on E Atlantic and W Mediterranean coasts, among which minimum 6400–9600... read more
Until recently considered conspecific with C. dealbatus and C. nivosus; also probably close to C. marginatus, C. javanicus and C. ruficapillus, and all (especially C. javanicus) have on occasion been included within present species. Proposed race spatzi (from S Western Sahara) synonymized with nominate, and leggei (from E India) with seebohmi. Three subspecies recognized.