Habitat
Clear, firm sand, mud or gravel shores for nesting, foraging and roosting, edges of inland freshwater lakes, temporary or muddy pools and rivers, streams with shingle banks, rice-paddies and the margins of artificial water-bodies. Also the coast on the edges of intertidal mudflats, sandy beaches, coastal lagoons, estuaries, tidal pools, and mangroves.
Three-banded Plover (Charadrius tricollaris) [XC447079]
by Derek Solomon from Klerksdorp, Southern DC, North West, South Africa (call)
Three-banded Plover (Charadrius tricollaris) [XC576252]
by Tony Archer from City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality (near Northern Farm), City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng, South Africa (song)
Nest
A simple scrape placed on sand, dry mud, shingle or on rocks close to water.
Subspecies
Form superspecies with Forbes's Plover (Charadrius forbesi) and sometimes considered conspecific.
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
tricollaris Vieillot, 1818 - Ethiopia to Tanzania and Gabon, and south to South Africa. Non-breeding also around L Chad.
bifrontatus Cabanis, 1882 - Madagascar. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Madagascar Three-banded Plover (Charadrius bifrontatus).