White-faced Plover
Anarhynchus dealbatus
A small, pale plover with sandy upperparts, pinkish-colored legs, and a black bill. Male in breeding plumage has a mostly rufous crown and small black marks on top of the head and at the sides of the breast. The face is mostly white, including the area between the bill and eye. Breeding female and non-breeding adults duller, lacking black and rufous. The face is still pale, though there can be a hint of brown between the bill and eye. Breeding range and habitat unknown. In migration and winter, found along the coast on sandy beaches, dry mudflats, and salt ponds. Often joins mixed-species shorebird flocks, especially with other plovers. Separated from Common Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers by the lack of a complete dark band across the breast. Very similar to Kentish Plover. Breeding male is separated by the white (rather than black) area between bill and eye, and by the more restricted black on the head and sides of the breast. Female and non-breeding birds more difficult to separate, but note the whiter face, smaller dark patch at the side of the breast, paler legs, slightly heavier bill, and slightly broader white stripe through the wing (visible in flight). Also similar to Malaysian Plover, but separated by the whiter face (including the area between the bill and eye), less scaly-looking back, and smaller dark smudge at the side of the breast. Breeding male further distinguished by the lack of a black collar at the back of the neck.
Identification
The white-faced plover grows to a length of about 17 cm (6.7 in). It has a rounded head with a white fore-crown and a white supercilium. The crown is pale rufous brown upper parts are pale brownish-grey. The hind collar, throat and underparts are white. The beak and legs are dark and the tail short. Compared to the rather similar Kentish plover, it has a thicker, blunter beak, white lores, paler crown and upperparts, less black on the lateral breast patches and a larger white wingbar.
Taxonomy
The white-faced plover was first described in 1870 by the English naturalist Robert Swinhoe. The type specimen came from the island of Formosa (Taiwan) and he gave it the name Aegialites dealbatus. Since then the bird has been the subject of much debate and has variously been classified as being conspecific with Charadrius marginatus, Charadrius alexandrinus, Charadrius nivosus, Charadrius javanicus and Charadrius ruficapillus. Some authors consider it to be a subspecies of C. alexandrinus while others give it full species status as C. dealbatus.<p>However, the White-faced Plover is now acknowledged as a distinct species by prominent international checklists, aligning with the recommendations based on recent genetic, ecological, and demographic findings.
- Scientific name
- Anarhynchus dealbatus
- Authority
- (Swinhoe, 1870)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Recurvirostridae
- Genus
- Anarhynchus
Range and habitat
This bird is found along a wide seaboard area of southern China and adjacent northern Vietnam ; its wintering range extends south across eastern Indochina towards Sumatra. It typically inhabits sandy beaches, mudflats and saltpans, and outside the breeding season visits reclaimed areas.
- Breeding range
- OR : presumably coastal se China; also s Vietnam (1 nest)
- Non-breeding range
- to coastal s Vietnam, s Thailand, Malay Pen., Singapore and e Sumatra
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
The diet of this bird has been little studied but is presumed to be similar to that of the Kentish plover which feeds on small invertebrates such as insects and their larvae, spiders, molluscs, crustaceans and marine worms. It feeds on the foreshore, searching visually for prey then dashing forward to catch the prey or probing the substrate with its beak. Its breeding habits are not known.
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
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Ramphocelus nigrogularis
Small, attractive tanager; bright crimson and black with a black mask and silver bill. Most commonly found in vegetation around oxbow lakes, also sometimes found in nearby forests and along rivers. Sexes similar though females are slightly duller than males. Extensive crimson and black mask easily distinguish this species from other tanagers within its range.
River Prinia
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An active, slender, unstreaked warbler with a long graduated tail that is sometimes cocked. Gray-brown above and pale below, with a distinctive pale eyebrow. Found near water, but in arid areas, in tall grass, reeds, and bushes. Similar in appearance to Tawny-flanked Prinia, but slimmer and paler below, and also usually distinguished by habitat and song. The song is a quick series of high-pitched “seep” notes, similar to Tawny-flanked Prinia’s but higher-pitched, purer, and less scratchy.
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Sigelus silens
A large pied flycatcher that is most commonly mistaken for Southern Fiscal. However, the upright stance and slender unhooked bill are distinctive flycatcher traits, and the pattern of white in the flight feathers and basal windows of the tail is diagnostic. The female is duller than the male. Singles and pairs frequent a variety of open country habitats, including gardens, parks, shrubland, and woodland, where they perch conspicuously and hawk insect prey from the ground or aerially. The species is mostly silent but occasionally it utters a thin high-pitched song. The similar Southern Fiscal is more robust than the Fiscal Flycatcher, with a chunky hook-tipped bill, a white V-pattern on the shoulders, and a long tail with white outer feathers.
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