Black-fronted Dotterel
Thinornis melanops
Small plover with streaked upperparts, strong white eyebrow, and a heavy black line through the eye. Note red eyering. Adult has distinctive black V on chest. Very common around freshwater wetlands.
Identification
As an adult, this small shorebird has an overall length of 16–18 cm (6.3–7.1 in), a wingspan of 33–35 cm (13–14 in) and a weight of 30–35 g (1.1–1.2 oz). The sexes are similar in appearance.It has a distinct black face mask, forehead and v-shaped band across the chest. Dorsally it is a mottled brown colour with the wings and crown of the head the same colour. This colouration is particularly useful for camouflage against aerial predators. Orbital eye rings and the first section of the bill are red, with the latter being black at the tip. The legs are pale orange. Unlike many other wading birds, black-fronted dotterels retain the same plumage all year round. <p>Juveniles are duller in colour with a greyish beak and lacking the black breast band and forehead.
Taxonomy
The black-fronted dotterel was formally described in 1818 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot under the binomial name Charadrius melanops. The type locality was subsequently designated as New South Wales. The specific epithet combines the Ancient Greek melops meaning "black" with ōps meaning "face". This species was previously placed in the monotypic genus Elseyornis but a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2022 found that it was embedded in a clade containing members of the genus Charadrius. The black-fronted dotterel was therefore moved back to Charadrius. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
- Scientific name
- Thinornis melanops
- Authority
- Vieillot, 1818
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Charadriidae
- Genus
- Thinornis
Range and habitat
The black-fronted dotterel is widespread throughout Australia including in Tasmania and self-introduced in New Zealand where it is now also common.<p>It inhabits the edges of freshwater sources including wetlands, lakes, swamps, dams and billabongs, and in shallow, temporary claypan pools. Occasionally, it can also be found occupying saline mudflats and estuaries. It will avoid water more than a few mm deep and heavy vegetation. Black-fronted dotterels are typically sedentary, with a single bird, a pair, or a family group occupying a stretch of habitat on a more or less permanent basis. However, some individuals appear to travel considerable distances, and flocks will sometimes congregate in food-rich areas.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Their diet consists of crustaceans, insects and seeds. They forage in a series of short running motions, holding the body horizontal, stopping to peck from time to time with a rapid bobbing motion.<p>The black-fronted dotterel breeds between August and February, although is known to breed anytime conditions are right e.g. after suitable rains in Northern Australia. During courtship, both species will call and participate in aerial displays.<p>The nest is a small depression that can consist of twigs, shells and pebbles. The eggs are a greyish-yellow colour with brown and lavender markings. Incubation of the 2-3 eggs is shared between both parents. When one parent is not incubating, they still rest and feed close to the nest. During incubation, if the eggs get too hot the adults will stand over the eggs to shade them from the harsh sun or wet the feathers on their stomach to wet and cool the eggs. The egg gestation period is 4–5 weeks. Twenty-four hours after they hatch the chicks leave the nest to hide in less exposed areas, while at the same time both parents look after them. Both parents will call loudly and feign injury to lure predators away from the nest.
Conservation
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Ducula basilica
A distinctive large pigeon with a pale pink head and neck, a deep cinnamon belly, dark greenish upperparts and tail, and a broad pale band at the tail tip. Singles to small groups inhabit forest and forest edge, including degraded forest and plantations. Perches high, but rarely in the open. Overlaps with Spectacled Imperial-Pigeon, but differs in its pink head, its lack of a bold eye-ring, its cinnamon belly, and its pale tail band. Gives a signature deep two-note growl, “ku-woooo,” with a curt, rising first note and a longer second note.
Cinnamon-browed Melidectes
Melidectes ochromelas
A fairly large honeyeater of mid-montane forest canopy. Mainly dusky gray plumage with a white scaled back, olive wing feathers, pale green eye wattle with short cinnamon stripes above and behind, and an additional red mark below the cheek. Similar to Belford’s and Huon Melidectes, but Cinnamon-browed lacks the facial stripe down from the bill. Call, a loud shriek or cackling phrase “keeet! kwit-kwit-kwit-kwit-kwit-kwit-kwit!”
Black-browed Fulvetta
Alcippe grotei
Aptly-named; looks like a Yunnan or Mountain Fulvetta that went overboard with eyeliner. Warm brown with a pale belly and gray head. Black stripe very slightly and elegantly arches up above the eye. Larger than Mountain and Yunnan Fulvettas, and more warmly-colored than the former. Due to the lack of a prominent eyering, it also appears less smaller-eyed and less “cute” than those species. Inhabits broadleaved forests, where it can often be found as a part of large mixed flocks. Song is a brief series of rather bland plaintive phrases. Calls are harsh rolling chatters.
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