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Double-banded Plovers are small, mostly coastal waders. Their plumage changes between breeding season and non-breeding season. During the breeding season the back (cap, sides of head, mantle, upperwings and uppertail) is dark brownish-grey, while the front (forehead, throat, chest, belly and vent) is white, dissected by a black throat band and a second, wider brown chest band. The bill is dark-grey, the legs and feet are yellow. In eclipse the back remains roughly the same, while the two bands across the front disappear and are replaced by faint brown partial bars where the brown chest band is usually located.

Twitcher's tip

Due to its relatively short migration to New Zealand, compared to other small migratory species of plovers, the Double-banded Plover is the one that can most easily be seen in Australia in its breeding plumage.

The correct identification of waders ("shorebirds"), e.g. of the Calidris, Tringa, Actitis and related families or of the Charadrius, Pluvialis and related genera in the field can be quite tricky. We have therefore made an attempt to give some advice HERE.

The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org .

The global distribution of the Double-banded Plover is available HERE .

Double-banded Plovers breed only in New Zealand.

In Australia, Double-banded Plovers, nominate race "bicinctus", are non-breeding migrants. They spend the winter mostly along the Australian East coast and offshore islands, ranging from about Cape Melville, QLD, in the North, to Tasmania (except its far south-western part) in the South. Along the South coast of the Australian continent Double-banded Plovers can be found as far as Eyre Peninsula and Kangaroo Island; there are only very infrequent sightings along the South coast of WA. Inland they are found regularly only in an area from about Melbourne, VIC, towards the North-West, to the north-western border of VIC with NSW, on the Murray River. In wet years they can also be found along inland waters elsewhere.

Double-banded Plovers are mostly found foraging along saltwater and brackish water, on beaches and in mudflats, but they can also be found around fresh water, even on grassland and bare ground.

Race "bicinctus"

Two Double-banded Plovers, race "bicinctus", in non-breeding plumage were first spotted by us at Goran Lake, an ephemeral lake about 30 km South of Gunnedah, NSW, in March 2012, when we observed them foraging along the water's edge. In May 2012 a flock of about 50 birds, mostly in non-breeding plumage, was seen by us at the same location. A flock of about 50 birds was still present at Goran Lake in June 2012, when the first birds were observed moulting into their breeding plumage.

In July 2013 we found Double-barred Plovers, race "bicinctus", on the coastline at Old Bar, NSW.

Double-banded Plovers, race "bicinctus", were seen by us at Goran Lake on subsequent visits, usually in mixed flocks with Red-capped Plovers.

B. Hensen reports spotting Double-banded Plovers, race "bicinctus", at the boat harbour at Kurnell, NSW, in August 2017.

M. Eaton reports finding Double-banded Plovers, race "bicinctus", at Broadwater, Gold Coast, QLD, in March 2019.

M. Windeyer reports finding Double-banded Plovers, race "bicinctus", in an ephemeral wetland near Gilgandra, NSW, in June 2020.