Male: Breeding: Back, center of rump, wing coverts, greyish-brown, with greater coverts tipped white forming a narrow white wingbar with white bases to secondaries. Forehead, underparts, white with black head markings. Two bands, the upper being sharp and black across lower throat, the other, well separated broad chestnut band across the breast. Rump, tail, brownish with pale sides. Bill, black. Legs, dull yellow grey or grey green. Non-breeding: Upperparts, buffish-grey brown, with a broad, brownish mark from below eye widening on ear coverts. Forehead, whitish. Eyebrow, whitish to yellow-buff, with a similar wash on nape suggesting a rear collar. Underparts, whitish, with traces of, or complete, brownish upper breast band, and some traces of chestnut lower breastband.
Female: Breeding: Like breeding male but head markings and upper breast band brown. Non-breeding: As for male.
Immatures: Like non-breeding adult but facial area and collar more yellow buff. Feathers of upperparts have pale buff margins. Breastbands missing.
Double-banded Plover (Charadrius bicinctus) [XC796812]
by id from Pukaki, Mackenzie District, Canterbury, New Zealand (call)
Double-banded Plover (Charadrius bicinctus) [XC403133]
by Barry Edmonston from Omarama, Waitaki District, Canterbury, New Zealand (alarm call)
Nest
A depression in gravel or shingle of a river-flat.
Eggs (Guide)
3; green or grey-tinged, well marked with black streaks and blotches; oval to pyriform; about 35 x 25 mm.
Young
Precocial, nidifugous.
Subspecies
Most of the population of subspecies bicinctus migrates to southern Australia in the winter. Subspecies, exilis, is uncommon and sedentary.
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
bicinctus Jardine & Selby, 1827 - New Zealand and Chatham Is. Winters to southern and eastern Australia, Tasmania, Norfolk I and Lord Howe I, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji.
exilis Falla, 1978 - Auckland Island.
Similar Species
Mongolian Plover (Charadrius mongolus)
Slightly larger. Non-breeding with non-breeding. Upperparts paler brown. Only a single breastband. Bill, more robust. Legs, dark grey, sometimes with a greenish tinge. In flight, legs extend beyond the tail.
Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula)
Similar size. Non-breeding with non-breeding. Has a shorter, thicker, blackish bill, with yellowish at the base of the lower mandible. Has a white collar. Only a single, incomplete, breastband is usually visible. Legs, orange yellow.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet