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Answers for this challenge are due by replying to this topic by midnight (NZST) on Saturday 14 August 2010.

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Challenge # 2
Mongolian dotterel, nonbreeding plumage

SGucciardo, USA

Large sand dotterel

Mongolian Plover

What name would you like?

Large Sand Dotterel?
Greater Sand Plover?

Take your pick. I think I recognise that very bird!

And Bar-tailed Godwits in the background for a bonus point?

Phil

hmmm, another wader.....

well, obviously a Charadrius or related plover, so that's a start. Lack of white neck-collar rules out ringed plover (C.hiaticula), facial pattern rules out black-fronted dotterel (C. melanops), head and breast patterning rules out red-kneed dotterel (E.cinctus), shape of bill and length of legs rules out shore plover (T.novaeseelandiae), dark plumage and strong face pattern rules out NZ dotterel (C.obscurus), and the size of the bill and length of legs rules out red-capped dotterel (C.ruficapillus) and banded dotterel (C.bicinctus); so that only leaves lesser sand plover (C.mongolus) and large sand plover (C.leschenaultii) which given the huge bill are really the only two candidates anyway.

Of those two species the large sand plover has distinctly longer lower legs and a much larger/longer bill with a more tapered tip.

Answer: large sand plover Charadrius leschenaultii

Hmmm, I'm going to go with Large Sand Dotterel.

Large Sand Dotterel or Greater Sand Plover
David Lawrie

It's my first time posting and first shot at taking a guess but I would say its a juv shore plover.

Charadrius of course but could be obscurus, mongolus or leschenaultii.

However, beak proportionally too long for either of the latter two so I will go for NZ Dot (Charadrius obscurus).