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A photo of a Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus), male
Kentish Plover, Male

Kentish Plover

Charadrius alexandrinus

The Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) is a small cosmopolitan shorebird (40-44 g) of the family Charadriidae that breeds on the shores of saline lakes, lagoons, and coasts, populating sand dunes, marshes, semi-arid desert, and tundra. Both male and female birds have pale plumages with a white underside, grey/brown back, dark legs and a dark bill, however additionally the male birds also exhibit very dark incomplete breast bands, and dark markings either side of their head, therefore the Kentish plover is regarded as sexually dimorphic Charadrius alexandrinus has a large geographical distribution, ranging from latitudes of 10º to 55º, occupying North Africa, both mainland, such as Senegal, and island, such as the Cape Verde archipelago, Central Asia, for example alkaline lakes in China, and Europe, including small populations in Spain and Austria. Some populations are migratory and often winter in Africa, whereas other populations, such as various island populations, do not migrate. Its common English name comes from the county of Kent, where it was once found, but it has not bred in Britain since 1979. Kentish plovers are ground-nesting birds, often with a preference for low, open, moist nesting sites away from thick vegetation and human activity. They use a number of materials to build their nests, mainly consisting of shells, pebbles, grass and leaves in a small scrape in the ground. Like most plovers, the Kentish plovers are predominantly insectivores, feeding on a large range of arthropods and invertebrates depending on the environment, by using a run and stop method.
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Photos

Sightings

A map showing the sighting location
🦉
Alma Swartz
Saturday 16 Sep 2023 - 5:37am
Saudi Arabia
A map showing the sighting location
🦉
Alma Swartz
Friday 15 Sep 2023 - 5:16am
Saudi Arabia
A map showing the sighting location
🦢
Lisa Carroll
Wednesday 13 Sep 2023 - 12:16pm
Spain
A photo of a Kentish Plover photographed in Delta de l'Ebre PNat--Gola de la Platjola Spain
Profile picture for Andrew Sheerin
Andrew Sheerin
Monday 11 Sep 2023 - 3:44pm
Spain
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