The Red-capped Plover also known as the Red-capped Dotterel, is a small 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...

. It breeds in Australia. The species is closely related to (and sometimes considered conspecific with) the Kentish Plover

Kentish Plover

The Kentish Plover, Charadrius alexandrinus, is a small wader in the plover bird family. Despite its name, this species no longer breeds in Kent, or even Great Britain...

, Javan Plover

Javan Plover

The Javan Plover is a species of bird in the Charadriidae family.It is endemic to Indonesia.Its natural habitats are sandy shores and intertidal flats.It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...

 and White-fronted Plover

White-fronted Plover

The White-fronted Plover or White-fronted Sandplover, Charadrius marginatus, is a small wader. This plover is resident in much of Africa south of the Sahara on rocky, sandy or muddy coasts and large inland rivers and lakes....

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Description

Red-capped Plovers have white underparts and forehead. Their upperparts are mainly grey-brown. Adult males have a rufous

Rufous

Rufous is a colour that may be described as reddish-brown or brownish-red, as of rust or oxidised iron.The first recorded use of rufous as a colour name in English was in the year 1782....

 crown and hindneck. Adult females have a paler rufous and grey brown crown and hindneck, with pale loral stripe. The upperwing of Charadrius ruficapillus shows dark brown remiges and primary coverts

Covert (feather)

A covert feather on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts, which as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail.- Wing-coverts :...

 with a white wingbar in flight. Its length is 14-16 cm and its wingspan is 27-34 cm; weight 35-40 g. Breeding plumage shows a red-brown crown and nape with black margins. Non-breeding plumage is duller and lacks the black margins.

Distribution and habitat

The Red-capped Plover is widespread in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

; it is a vagrant to New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, although it bred there for some time in small numbers from 1950-1980. The species occupies a range of coastal and inland habitats, including estuaries

Estuary

An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....

, bays, beaches, sandflats and mudflats; inland saline

Saline water

Saline water is a general term for water that contains a significant concentration of dissolved salts . The concentration is usually expressed in parts per million of salt....

 wetland

Wetland

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

s. It is also found in inland wetland areas with bare ground.

Breeding

The Red-capped Plover is a seasonal breeder on the coasts of Australia, but breeds in response to unpredictable rains inland. Nests on ground in vicinity of wetlands; nest a small depression with no or minimal lining. Clutch

Clutch (eggs)

A clutch of eggs refers to all the eggs produced by birds or reptiles, often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest.In birds, destruction of a clutch by predators, , results in double-clutching...

 of 2 pale yellowish-brown eggs, irregularly spotted black. Incubation

Avian incubation

Incubation refers to the process by which certain oviparous animals hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period. Especially in domestic fowl, the act of...

 period 30 days; incubating mainly done by female. Young precocial

Precocial

In biology, the term precocial refers to species in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. The opposite developmental strategy is called "altricial," where the young are born or hatched helpless. Extremely precocial species may be called...

 and nidifugous

Nidifugous

Nidifugous organisms are those that leave the nest shortly after hatching or birth. It is derived from Latin nidus for "nest" and fugere meaning "to flee". The terminology is most often used to describe birds and was introduced by Lorenz Oken in 1916...

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Conservation

With a large range and no evidence of significant population decline, this species' conservation status is of Least Concern

Least Concern

Least Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or Conservation Dependent...

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