White-fronted Plover
Encyclopedia
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 river
s and lake
s.
Adults are 16–18 cm in length, and are paler than similar species. The breeding adult has medium brown upperparts, with a white hind neck collar and a brilliant white forehead extending back in a conspicuous wedge between the eye and the crown. There is a black line through the eye and a black frontal bar to the crown. The underparts are white with a variable cream or buff wash to the breast. There may be rufous
patches on the breast sides. The bill
is black and the legs yellowish-grey.
Non-breeding adults are greyer than the breeding birds, and the black head marking are replaced by brown. The frontal bar may be absent in some females. The juvenile White-fronted Plover resembles the non-breeding adult, but has white underparts and no black on the head.
The White-fronted Plover's breeding habitat is sandy beaches; the eggs
are laid directly on the sand, and may be buried. The adults will take water to the nest in their breast feather
s. It feeds actively with fast runs like a Sanderling
, usually hunting by sight for insects, crustacean
s and worms. This is a gregarious species which forms flocks, often with other waders.
The call is a clear wiit, and there is a tukut alarm note.
, which vary in the colour shade of the neck collar and breast:
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...
. This 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...
is resident in much of 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...
south of the Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
on rocky, sandy or muddy coasts and large inland river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
s and lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
s.
Adults are 16–18 cm in length, and are paler than similar species. The breeding adult has medium brown upperparts, with a white hind neck collar and a brilliant white forehead extending back in a conspicuous wedge between the eye and the crown. There is a black line through the eye and a black frontal bar to the crown. The underparts are white with a variable cream or buff wash to the breast. There may be 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....
patches on the breast sides. The bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
is black and the legs yellowish-grey.
Non-breeding adults are greyer than the breeding birds, and the black head marking are replaced by brown. The frontal bar may be absent in some females. The juvenile White-fronted Plover resembles the non-breeding adult, but has white underparts and no black on the head.
The White-fronted Plover's breeding habitat is sandy beaches; the eggs
Bird egg
Bird eggs are laid by females and incubated for a time that varies according to the species; a single young hatches from each egg. Average clutch sizes range from one to about 17...
are laid directly on the sand, and may be buried. The adults will take water to the nest in their breast feather
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
s. It feeds actively with fast runs like a Sanderling
Sanderling
The Sanderling is a small wader. It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, South Europe, Africa, and Australia...
, usually hunting by sight for insects, crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s and worms. This is a gregarious species which forms flocks, often with other waders.
The call is a clear wiit, and there is a tukut alarm note.
Subspecies
There are four or five subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
, which vary in the colour shade of the neck collar and breast:
- C. marginatus arenaceus (Clancey, 197)1 - S Mozambique to SW Cape.
- C. marginatus marginatus (Vieillot, 1818) - S Angola to SW Cape.
- C. marginatus mechowi (Cabanis, 1884) - locally in Africa S of Sahara to N Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe and N Mozambique.
- C. marginatus tenellus (Hartlaub, 1861) - Madagascar.
- C. marginatus pons (not accepted by all authorities)