Chorlitejo Piquilargo

Identificación

The long-billed plover is a medium-sized wading bird about 19–20 centimetres (7.5–7.9 inches), and weighing around 41–70 grams (1.4–2.5 oz). The different body parts of males and females are similar in size. On average, the wing length is 14–15 centimetres (5.5–5.9 in), its tail length 7–8 centimetres (2.8–3.1 in), and the bill is about 2 centimetres (0.79 in) long. Both males and females have a grayish brown back and a white belly and throat. The forehead is white with a black band that runs from one eye to the other. The white patch of the forehead extends to the base of the bill. There is a black breast band below the throat. The eyes have a yellow ring around them, and a white stripe above. Even though the male and female have a similar appearance, their breeding plumage (summer plumage) has a few differences that can help distinguish between the two sexes. The black band on the forehead and on the breast of the male is wider and more distinct than that of the female. The feathers around the eyes of an adult breeding male are much darker than those of a female. Furthermore, the male's white eyestripe extends more distinctly behind the eye compared to that of the female. Juveniles look quite similar to adult individuals, however they lack the dark forehead band of adult birds. The breast band of juveniles is narrower and less distinct than that of adult males.<p>The long-billed plover is often confused with other species of plover such as the little-ringed plover, because of range overlap and similarity in appearance. However, the two species can still be distinguished from each other. The long-billed plover is larger than the little-ringed plover. As the name suggests, the long-billed plover has a longer and thicker bill than the little-ringed plover. Adult breeding male individuals of little-ringed plover have a solid black bar above the base of the bill, in addition to the black forehead band. The feathers around the eyes of little-ringed plover are black unlike the brown cheek feathers of long-billed plover. Furthermore, the yellow eye-ring of the little-ringed plover is much more distinct than that of long-billed plover. The breast band of the little-ringed plover is usually wider at the center than on the sides, whereas the breast band of long-billed plover has more or less uniform thickness.

Taxonomía

The long-billed plover is one of the many species of plovers in the genus Charadrius of the family Charadriidae that includes plovers, lapwings, and dotterels. Charadriidae is one of the 17 families under the order Charadriiformes that comprises a wide variety of shorebirds, such as gulls, terns, auks, puffins, sandpipers, lapwings, plovers, and allies. The long-billed plover was first described by J. E. Gray and G. R. Gray in 1863, and no subspecies has been reported so far.

Nombre científico

Thinornis placidus

Autoridad

Gray, JE & Gray, GR, 1863

Orden

Charadriiformes

Familia

Carádridos

Género

Thinornis

Distribución y hábitat

The long-billed plover is widely distributed throughout South and East Asia. It is quite uncommon throughout its range and occurs in small numbers. Breeding ground generally includes western, northern, and central parts of China, Japan, North Korea, and South Korea. Many instances of breeding activity have been reported in the Bureya river and other parts of far east Russia, Honshu island in Japan, southeastern China, and in the western Arunachal Pradesh in India near the Himalayas. This species has also been spotted during its breeding season in Singapore. The long-billed plover travels south of its breeding range to spend the winter. It generally winters throughout eastern Nepal, northeast India to Indochina, southern China, South Korea, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kiyushu islands of Japan, Taiwan, Myanmar, Malaysia, and Thailand. Populations on the three main islands of Japan do not generally migrate south, and are year-round residents. Only the population in Hokkaido travel south to winter in warmer climates.<p>Long-billed plovers prefer to inhabit the shores of rivers, streams, and lakes with small, round pebbles and rocks. They tend to nest on small temporary shingle islands or pebble spits that form between the different branches of meandering mountain rivers. These islands cannot be prone to frequent flooding, and need to be at least 600 square metres (6,500 sq ft) in area. The islands also need to have large patches of stones and pebbles that are 30–60 millimetres (1.2–2.4 in) in size. Their habitats are often surrounded by shrubs, willows, and young forests. Long-billed plovers can also be found in freshwater wetland habitats and rice fields in the winter. These birds tend to avoid sandy beaches, mudflats, and areas with large boulders.

Área de cría

PAL : riverine temperate se Siberia, Hokkaido to Kyushu (n to s Japan), n, c Korean Pen., ne, ec China; disjunctly ne India

Área no reproductiva

to riverine c Nepal, ne India, s, se China, s Korean Pen., Taiwan, n Thailand and n, c Vietnam

Migración

Migrantes completos

Comportamiento

Patrón migratorio: Migrantes completos.

Conservación

Tendencia poblacional: en declive.

Tendencia poblacional

en declive