Malaysian Plover
Anarhynchus peronii
Small pale plover, typically found on sandy beaches. Occasionally visits estuaries, seawalls, and mudflats as well. Very similar in all plumages to Kentish Plover, with which it occasionally mixes. Male is sandy brown with a black collar, pale face, and a rufous-and-black crown. Thinner collar and eye-line than Kentish Plover. Female and juvenile are similarly brown with a white collar and face. All plumages have diagnostically pale-fringed feathers which give the bird a worn, faded-out appearance; molting Kentish Plover may appear worn but not in such a uniform manner.
Identification
The Malaysian plover is 15 cm (5.9 in) in length. The male can be recognized by a thin black band around the neck; the female has a thin brown band. Its legs are pale. Its voice is a soft twit.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Anarhynchus peronii
- Authority
- (Schlegel, 1865)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Charadriidae
- Genus
- Anarhynchus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
This species is classified as near-threatened with about 10,000 individuals. They are thought to be declining because of infrastructure development and human disturbance. Increased human use of important beach habitat may cause trampling of eggs or chicks and also force adults off of nests so that eggs and chicks are vulnerable to heat stress. A study in the Gulf of Thailand suggested that the conversion of short, shrubby, dense vegetation into sparse Casuarina forests as well as the creation of sea walls that prevent chicks from moving between foraging areas on the mudflat and hiding habitats in the vegetation behind the beaches, could reduce habitat quality for Malaysian plovers. <p>Sandy tropical beaches have tremendous economic value and as a result there has been intensive development pressure on the remaining Malaysian plover habitats in Thailand. This is likely to continue as the Thai economy continues to improve from the Asian financial crisis and the domestic tourist market expands. The main remaining large populations of Malaysian plovers in Thailand are in Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park (Thailand's first marine protected area), and beaches around Bonok village both in Prachuap Khiri Khan province and Laem Phak Bia in Petchburi province. Bonok made headlines in the Thai and international media when a prominent environmental activist (Charoen Wataksorn) who helped to protect one of these undeveloped beaches from the construction of a coal power plant, was murdered after protesting against illegal land grabs on one of these beaches. The construction of a seawall in 2005 in Laem Phak Bia (a sandy, 1 km (.62 mi) long spit in Petchburi province) is likely to have significantly altered the habitat. <p>A study published in 2006 attempted to assess the impact of tourism on the species through a large-scale survey in Prachuap Khiri Khan and Petchburi, Thailand; 193 adults and 191 chicks were color-banded as part of the study. The study concluded that "tourism development on Thai beaches affects both habitat availability and productivity of Malaysian plovers by enhancing beach erosion rates, converting medium vegetation into tall monocultures and intensifying human disturbance. These direct effects of habitat loss may be exacerbated by density-dependent reductions in productivity."
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Schlegel's Asity
Philepitta schlegeli
Chunky, olive-backed bird. Males have a black head, multi-colored bare facial skin, and yellow underparts. Females have pale underparts with scaly markings. Madagascar endemic that is rare and local in moist patches of western deciduous forest. Found mainly in the upperstory, where it often visits flowering and fruiting trees. Sits motionless for long periods, and flies weakly. Usually alone or in pairs. Call is a quick, rising series of very high-pitched notes. Female is similar to female Velvet Asity, but is separated by range.
Sangihe Whistler
Coracornis sanghirensis
A chunky, dingy-looking, thick-billed songbird. Upperparts dark olive-brown, with a grayish head and a pale buff wash on the underparts. Note the pale bill with a dark tip. A rare species confined to canopy of tall, mature hill forest on Sangihe Island at sites where this habitat persists on ridges. Typically encountered in small groups or pairs. Most similar to Sangihe Golden-Bulbul, but Sangihe Whistler has a bicolored bill and lacks a yellow throat and face. Its loud song consists of around four repeated phrases. Also gives “churr” and sharp “wit” calls.
Little Bee-eater
Merops pusillus
A small, mostly grass-green bee-eater with a canary-yellow throat separated from buff underparts by a black line across the throat. Singles and pairs occupy grassy savanna and wetland edges. They often perch lower than 1.5 m above the ground, and dart around hunting flying insects, then returning to the same small twig. Calls include a sibilant “s-lip” and other high-pitched notes. The Blue-breasted Bee-eater is slightly larger and has a white patch on the cheek. The much larger Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater has burnt orange underparts, and it prefers highland forest above 1800 m.
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