Eurasian Dotterel

Charadrius morinellus

Order

CHARADRIIFORMES

Family

Plovers (Charadriidae)

Code 4

EUDO

Code 6

CHAMOR

ITIS

Breeding Location:

Plateaus, Mountain slopes

Breeding Type:

Polyandrous

Breeding Population:

Yes but uncommon

Egg Color:

Brown olive with black blotches

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Male

Nest Material:

Lined with leaves, grass, and lichens.

Migration:

Migratory

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General

Eurasian Dotterel: Medium-sized shorebird with gray upperparts, rust-brown flanks and belly with black lower margin, and white vent. Narrow white breast band is prominent. Cap is dark and two white eyestripes meet in a V at nape. Feet and legs are yellow. Female is similar but brighter. Winter adult and juvenile are duller with buff eyebrows, vague breast band, scaled gray-brown back, and white or buff underparts.

Range and Habitat

Eurasian Dotterel: Native of Eurasia; uncommon in western Alaska during summer. Nests on plateaus and mountain slopes below highest tops; prefers dry sandy or stony areas on high plateaus during winter.

Breeding and Nesting

Eurasian Dotterel: Three brown olive eggs with black blotches are laid on the ground in a deep depression lined with leaves and lichens. Incubation ranges from 24 to 28 days and is carried out by the male.

Foraging and Feeding

Eurasian Dotterel: Eats insects, worms, and mollusks.

Vocalization

Eurasian Dotterel: Song is a whistled "pweet-pweet-pweet." When alarmed utters a loud trill.

Similar Species

Eurasian Dotterel: Winter and immature American Golden Plovers have dark legs and feet, and lack pale breast bands.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden2.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Belly

The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Cap

The area on top of the head of the bird.

Nape

Also called the hindneck or collar, it is the back of the neck where the head joins the body.

Vent

Birds do not have two separate cavities for excrement and reproduction like humans do. In birds, there is one single entrance/exit that suits both functions called the vent, cloaca or anus.

Parts of a Standing bird

Head Feathers and Markings

Parts of a Flying bird

Field Guide to Birds of North America