Red-capped Plover
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[Photo] Red-capped Plover, Charadrius ruficapillus, female at Fraser Island, Australia. Date April 2006. Author Glen Fergus (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Glen_Fergus)

The Red-capped Plover (Charadrius ruficapillus), also known as the Red-capped Dotterel, is a small plover closely related to the Kentish Plover.

Description
White underparts and forehead; upperparts mainly grey-brown. Adult male has rufous crown and hindneck. Adult female has paler rufous and grey brown crown and hindneck, with pale loral stripe. Upperwing shows dark brown remiges and primary coverts with white wingbar in flight. Measurements: length 14-16 cm; wingspan 27-34 cm; weight 35-40 g.

Distribution
Widespread in Australia; straggler to New Zealand.

Habitat
Coastal estuaries, bays, beaches, sandflats and mudflats; inland saline wetlands.

Food
Mainly small invertebrates, especially molluscs, crustaceans and worms.

Breeding
Nests on ground in vicinity of wetlands; nest a small depression with no minimal lining. Clutch of 2 pale yellowish-brown eggs, irregularly spotted black. Incubation period 30 days; incubating mainly done by female. Young precocial and nidifugous.

Conservation
With a large range and no evidence of significant population decline, this species’ conservation status is of Least Concern.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-capped_Plover

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