Diademed sandpiper-plover

Diademed sandpiper-plover
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Charadriiformes
Family:Charadriidae
Genus:Phegornis
G.R. Gray, 1846
Species: P. mitchellii
Binomial name
Phegornis mitchellii
(Fraser, 1845)

The diademed sandpiper-plover or diademed plover (Phegornis mitchellii) is a species of bird in the plover family Charadriidae. It is monotypic within the genus Phegornis.[2] The relationship of this species to other plovers is uncertain, a 2010 study suggested it may be related to the Australian dotterels.[3]

The species is found in the Puna grassland ecozone of the Andes Mountains from Argentina and Chile, through Bolivia to Peru. In this habitat it prefers mossy tundra, high-altitude grassland, bogs and swamps. It is an altitudinal migrant, breeding between 3,500–5,000 m (11,500–16,400 ft) above sea-level, but wintering at 2,000 m (6,600 ft).[3]

The diademed sand-piper-plover is a small compact plover, 16.5–19 cm (6.5–7.5 in) in length and weighing 28–46 g (0.99–1.62 oz). It has a black head with a white stripe above the eye meeting at the crown, a chestnut neck, a white throat and chest barred in black, and grey upperparts. The wings are short and the flight undulating. The sexes are alike and the juvenile has a grey head, less distinct barring on the front and brown upperparts.[3]

They breed in the summer months, laying two eggs, olive-grey with black spots, in a circular nest of grasses. The downy chicks are dark brown, marbled with black above and lighter below.[3]

The species is poorly known and uncommon, and rarely recorded. While its habitat is thought to be secure, it is possible that overgrazing is a threat.[3]

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Phegornis mitchellii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. ↑ "ITIS Report: Phegornis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Wiersma, P., Kirwan, G.M. & de Juana, E. (2017). Diademed Plover (Phegornis mitchellii). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/53857 on 3 March 2017).
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