Family Plovers (Charadriidae)
Least Concern
White-fronted Plover (Charadrius marginatus)
Taxonomy
French: Pluvier à front blanc German: Weißstirn-Regenpfeifer Spanish: Chorlitejo frentiblanco
Other common names:
White-fronted Sandplover
Taxonomy:
Charadrius marginatus
Vieillot
, 1818,Cape Peninsula, South Africa
.
Subspecies and Distribution
C. m. hesperius
Bates, 1932 – locally in W Africa E to Nigeria and Cameroon.
C. m. mechowi
(Cabanis, 1884) – locally in Africa from Gabon E to Ethiopia, S to N Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and N Mozambique.
C. m. marginatus
Vieillot, 1818 – SW Angola to SW South Africa.
C. m. arenaceus
Clancey, 1971 – S Mozambique to coasts of S & SW South Africa.
C. m. tenellus
Hartlaub, 1861 – Madagascar.
Descriptive notes
18 cm; nominate 42–55 g, mechowi 27–40 g, tenellus 33–45·5 g. Differs from similar species in always lacking well-defined black or... read more
Voice
Most-frequently heard calls a low-pitched short “pwut” or “prrut”, and a dry trilled “trrrr”. Also... read more
Habitat
Sandy seashores and inland along sandy shores of larger rivers and lakes; also rocky coasts,... read more
Food and feeding
Insects, such as sandflies, grasshoppers, termites, mosquito pupae and Cheirocephalus larvae; also gastropods, bivalves and... read more
Breeding
Lays Feb–Sept from Senegambia to Nigeria (e.g. Apr–Sept in Ghana), mainly May–Jul in E Africa, and somewhat later further... read more
Movements
Sedentary, with some local seasonal movements of immatures, but ringing or other efforts with... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Overall population estimated in early 2000s at 66,000–90,000 individuals, broken down as follows by subpopulation (race): 18,... read more
Probably closest to C. alexandrinus, C. dealbatus, C. nivosus, C. javanicus and C. ruficapillus, and all have on occasion been considered conspecific. Delimitation of races hampered by existence of intergradation and individual variation; some authors consider population from Sudan and Ethiopia to NE South Africa as belonging to race tenellus, and hesperius perhaps not separable from mechowi. Other proposed races, for which evidence too scanty to support recognition, are nigirius (R Niger), subsumed within hesperius, and pons (S Somalia) synonymized with mechowi. Five subspecies recognized.