Egyptian Plover
Pluvianus aegyptius
An unusual shorebird that is so distinctive that it has been placed in its own family. The back is blue-gray and the underparts salmon; the head and breast are boldly marked with black and white. Immatures are duller, but still distinctive. In flight, shows a striking pattern of black and white in the outer wing. Found mostly on sandbars in slow-flowing rivers, rarely in other wetland habitats. The call is a “tchep” that is often repeated, especially in flight.
Identification
The Egyptian plover is a striking and unmistakable species. The 19–21 cm long adult has a black crown, back, eye-mask and breast band. The rest of the head is white. The remaining upperpart plumage is blue-grey, and the underparts are orange. The longish legs are blue-grey.<p>In flight, it is even more spectacular, with the black crown and back contrasting with the grey of the upperparts and wings. The flight feathers are brilliant white crossed by a black bar. From below, the flying bird is entirely white, apart from the orange belly and black wing bar. After landing, members of a pair greet each other by raising their wings in an elaborate ceremony that shows off the black and white markings. The sexes are similar, but juveniles are duller and the black marking are intermixed with brown.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Pluvianus aegyptius
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Pluvianidae
- Genus
- Pluvianus
Range and habitat
The Egyptian plover is a localised resident in tropical sub-Saharan Africa. It breeds on sandbars in very large rivers. Despite its vernacular and scientific names, it is not present in modern-day Egypt. However, when it was described in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus, the Egyptian state encompassed much of the territory that the bird is found in, including Sudan, Chad, and Ethiopia.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
This usually very tame bird is found in pairs or small groups near water. It feeds by pecking for insects. The call is a high-pitched krrr-krrr-krrr. Due to how tame it is, people often get closer than is safe.<p>Its two or three eggs are not incubated, but are buried in warm sand, temperature control being achieved by the adult sitting on the eggs with a water-soaked belly to cool them. If the adult leaves the nest, it smooths sand over the eggs, though if it is frightened the job may be hasty. The chicks are precocial, and can run as soon as they are hatched and feed themselves shortly afterwards. The adults cool the chicks in the same way as with the eggs. The chicks may drink water from the adult's belly feathers. The adults bury the chicks in the sand temporarily if danger threatens.<p>The bird is sometimes referred to as the crocodile bird for its symbiotic relationship with crocodiles. According to Herodotus, the crocodiles lie on the shore with their mouths open and a bird called "Trochilus" flies into the crocodiles' mouths so as to feed on decaying meat lodged between the crocodiles' teeth. The identification of the Trochilus with any particular plover is doubtful and the cleaning symbiosis itself has never been documented by video or photographic evidence.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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A small, sharp-billed warbler-like bird. Very dull olive-brown in coloration, with conspicuous white “spectacles.” Found locally in forest, woodland, and gardens on some of the granitic Seychelles islands. Usually found in hyperactive flocks. Vaguely similar to Seychelles Warbler, but smaller, shorter-tailed, and darker below, with bold white spectacles. Most common call is a “tew” note given singly or in a series. The song is a complex, varied sequence of high-pitched notes.
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