Animalia Life

Charadrius hiaticula
SUBFAMILY
Charadriinae
TAXONOMY
Charadrius hiaticula Linnaeus, 1758. Two subspecies.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Common ringed plover; French: Grand Gravelot; German: Sandregenpfeifer; Spanish: Chorlito de Collar, Chorlitejo Grande.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
7–8 in (18–20 cm). Males in breeding season: 2–2.54 oz (57–72 g); females 1.98–2.65 oz (56–75 g). Upperparts, including crown, are sandy brown. Neck has a black ring with a white ring above it. White underparts, forehead, and superciliary line. Dark frontal bar and line running under the eye from the bill. In breeding male, bill is orange with black tip. Legs orange.
DISTRIBUTION
Breeds from northeastern Canada east to northeastern Siberia and winters in Africa, southern Europe, the Persian Gulf, and India.
HABITAT
Coastal during the breeding season, selecting nesting sites on beaches, near coastal tundra ponds, or on muddy plains. Rarely nests along rivers and occasionally found away from water. Favors nest sites near high tide mark on sandy or shingled beaches. On migration and during winter found along seashores and coastal marshes where vegetation is low or occasionally in dry open areas. May be found on coral reefs exposed at low tide.
BEHAVIOR
Outside of the breeding season most often seen in small flocks of up to 50 birds, but occasionally solitary and may also be seen in large flocks of up to 1,500 birds. Aggressive to neighbors on wintering grounds.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
As is typical of plovers, it forages by running, stopping, lunging, and then running on. Foot patting or trembling is common. Forages during the day and at night. Eats a variety of invertebrates.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Strongly territorial during breeding season. Nesting densities are typically low with fewer than one pair per hectare, but contiguous nesting territories of about 98 ft (30 m) in diameter occur. Birds may mate with the same partner in consecutive breeding seasons. Some birds arrive on breeding territory already paired. Both sexes incubate eggs and care for chicks. A clutch of four eggs is laid in a hollow in the sand. The nest is often lined with small pebbles. Incubation requires about 25 days, and birds fledge at about 23 days. Both sexes engage in injury feigning displays. Commonly double brooded, especially in southern populations. Nest sometimes reused, but new sites as much as 1,640 ft (500 m) from the first may be chosen.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Populations are healthy and some populations in England and Scotland are expanding their ranges inland.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.

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