Page 173 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

WADERS
Order Charadriiformes Family Charadriidae Species Charadrius alexandrinus
Kentish Plover

swept-back,
pointed wings
black bar on dark legs
long white forehead JUVENILE
wingbar rufous-ginger cap
earth brown (dull in winter)
upperparts
white
forehead
short black bill
MALE dusky eye
(SUMMER)
patch
IN FLIGHT black markings brown chest
on sides of breast patch
(browner in
dark legs clean white winter)
underparts
dark legs

MALE
(SUMMER)
FEMALE
ong gone from Kent
L except as an occasional
visitor, the Kentish Plover is still quite
widespread just across the English Channel, but is commonest FLIGHT: quick and dashing, on swept-back,
around the Mediterranean. It prefers sandy places, such as the pointed wings; glides in to land.
embankments and waste areas around salt pans and
behind beaches, even around building sites near the
shore. Rare migrants farther north are generally found
within Ringed Plover flocks and their identification
requires careful observation, especially when juveniles
are about in late summer.
VOICE Short, sharp, whistled whip, whistled bew-ip;
rolled trilling notes.
NESTING Shallow hollow in sand, lined with pebbles
or shell fragments; 3 or 4 eggs; 2 broods; March–July.
FEEDING Takes small invertebrates such as flies and PALE BEACH PLOVER
sandhoppers, from ground, tilting forward after short A spring male has almost entirely white underparts, with small chest
run in typical stop-start plover action. marks. Its short dashes on the beach give it a lively character.
SIMILAR SPECIES OCCURRENCE
Found mostly on sandy areas near
RINGED PLOVER juvenile; LITTLE RINGED PLOVER shores, also beside freshwater
see p.170 juvenile; see p.169
lagoons and flooded areas of
waste ground, on S North Sea and
Channel coasts, W France, and
pale Mediterranean area. Migrants rare
legs no wing- on estuaries or inland waters.
stripe
Seen in the UK
pale legs
JF M A M J JA S ON D
Length 15–17cm (6–6 1 ⁄2in) Wingspan 50cm (20in) Weight 40–60g (1 7 ⁄16 –2 1 ⁄8oz)
Social Small flocks Lifespan 10 years Status Declining
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