Red-capped Plover
Charadrius ruficapillus· 鸻科(1 photos)
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Red-capped Plover
14-16 cm. Male: forehead white; crown and nape fox-red; margined black, black mark from bill to eye and another on upperbreast. Female: head and nape sandier, black markings less distinct. Juvenile: paler; with scaly pattern to upperparts. Singles, pairs; runs along edge of water on twinkling black legs; autumn companies with other small waders, in flocks that wheel and plunge; now brown, now white. Note pure white underparts, thin white wingbar, tail blackish in centre, edged white.
- Other name
- Red-capped Dotterel; 'Sandlark'; 'Sandpiper'.
- Similar Species
- Double-banded Plover; Ringed Plovers; Red-necked Stint.
- Voice
- brisk 'tik!', singly or accelerating into rapid buzz; sharp peeps.
- Habitat
- broad sandy and shelly beaches; bare margins of saline wetlands and lakes, inland and coastal; saltmarsh; tidal mudflats and sandflats; adjacent dunes; occasionally shallow freshwater wetlands, inland and coastal.
- Breeding
- July-Jan. s. Aust.; all months n. Aust.
- Eggs
- 2-3; pale sandy to greenish stone; blotched and mottled grey, lavender, dark brown and black; laid in scrape in sand, shingle or bare ground; scantily lined with shells, stones, plants.
- Range & Status
- Aust. and Tas. in suitable habitat, coastal and inland. Sedentary; nomadic. Vagrant NZ.
