Postby Byrd » Sun Aug 01, 2010 6:33 pm
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
