Eurasian Dotterel
Encyclopedia
The Eurasian Dotterel or in Europe
just Dotterel, is a small wader
in the plover
family of bird
s.
It breeds in the Arctic tundra of northern Eurasia
, from Norway
to eastern Siberia
, and on suitable mountain plateaus such as the Scottish
highlands and the Alps
. It nests in a bare ground scrape and lays two to four eggs.
This species is migratory
, wintering in a narrow belt across north Africa
from Morocco
eastwards to Iran
. Migration stopovers are traditional, and small parties (trips) of Dotterels pass through each year at these usually inland arable or grassy sites. The winter habitat is semi-desert.
This plover is smaller and more compact than Eurasian Golden Plover
. It has a striking whitish supercilium in all plumages and has plain wings in flight. Adults in summer are unmistakable, with a chestnut breast bordered above with white, black belly and warm brown back. The legs are yellow, and the short bill is black. As with the phalarope
s, the female is brighter than the male. The male dotterel generally is responsible for incubation and looks after the chicks. In most cases the cock dotterel successfully prevents other males from getting his mate and fertilizing her eggs. He usually rears chicks that he has fathered.
Winter birds lack the rich underpart coloration, apart from the white breast line, and are greyer above. Young birds are similar but have a scaly appearance to their backs.
The Dotterel's food is insect
s and other small invertebrate
s such as snails and worms and shellfish. These are obtained by a run-and-pause technique, rather than the steady probing of some other wader groups.
The flight call is a soft pyurr. The female's song is a simple repetitive whistle.
The Eurasian Dotterel is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA
) applies.
Another consequence of the friendly and trusting nature of this bird has caused the name 'dotterel' in English to carry a negative connotation. The term 'dotterel' is a contemptuous label used to describe somebody who is considered to be a doting old fool.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
just Dotterel, is a small wader
Wader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
in the plover
Plover
Plovers are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. There are about 40 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel". The closely related lapwing subfamily, Vanellinae, comprises another 20-odd species.Plovers are found throughout...
family of bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s.
It breeds in the Arctic tundra of northern Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
, from Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
to eastern Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, and on suitable mountain plateaus such as the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
highlands and the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
. It nests in a bare ground scrape and lays two to four eggs.
This species is migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
, wintering in a narrow belt across north Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
from Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
eastwards to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. Migration stopovers are traditional, and small parties (trips) of Dotterels pass through each year at these usually inland arable or grassy sites. The winter habitat is semi-desert.
This plover is smaller and more compact than Eurasian Golden Plover
Eurasian Golden Plover
The European Golden Plover is a largish plover. This species is similar to two other golden plovers. American Golden Plover, Pluvialis dominiica, and Pacific Golden Plover, Pluvialis fulva, are both smaller, slimmer and relatively longer-legged than European Golden Plover, and both have grey...
. It has a striking whitish supercilium in all plumages and has plain wings in flight. Adults in summer are unmistakable, with a chestnut breast bordered above with white, black belly and warm brown back. The legs are yellow, and the short bill is black. As with the phalarope
Phalarope
A phalarope or wadepiper is any of three living species of slender-necked shorebirds in the genus Phalaropus of the bird family Scolopacidae. They are close relatives of the shanks and tattlers, the Actitis and Terek Sandpipers, and also of the turnstones and calidrids...
s, the female is brighter than the male. The male dotterel generally is responsible for incubation and looks after the chicks. In most cases the cock dotterel successfully prevents other males from getting his mate and fertilizing her eggs. He usually rears chicks that he has fathered.
Only 4.6% (2/44) of chicks were not the genetic offspring of the caring male corresponding to 9.1% (2/22) broods affected.
Winter birds lack the rich underpart coloration, apart from the white breast line, and are greyer above. Young birds are similar but have a scaly appearance to their backs.
The Dotterel's food is insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and other small invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s such as snails and worms and shellfish. These are obtained by a run-and-pause technique, rather than the steady probing of some other wader groups.
The flight call is a soft pyurr. The female's song is a simple repetitive whistle.
The Eurasian Dotterel is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA
AEWA
The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds is the largest of its kind developed so far under the Bonn Convention. It was concluded on 16 June 1995 at The Hague, the Netherlands and entered into force on 1 November 1999 after the required number of at least fourteen...
) applies.
Observations on the Dotterel
The Dotterel has long been considered tame and unsuspecting. This led to it being easy prey for illegal collection of the bird, which depleted its stocks.Another consequence of the friendly and trusting nature of this bird has caused the name 'dotterel' in English to carry a negative connotation. The term 'dotterel' is a contemptuous label used to describe somebody who is considered to be a doting old fool.
External links
- Identification guide (PDF) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta
- Breeding Dotterels in Kazarkstan Females incubated as well as males in Kazarkstan.