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9

Hooded Plover (Thinornis [Charadrius] rubricollis) Alternate name(s): "Hooded Dotterel" Size: 19-23 cm; wing span 23-44 cm Weight: 80-110 g

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Hooded Plovers are small to medium-sized waders. They have a black head with conspicuous red eye-rings and a white nape of the neck. The lower edge of the black head plumage extends backwards in a narrow ring that widens into a black band on the mantle, with black bars down the sides at the base of the wings. Chest, belly and vent are white. The wings are greyish light-brown, the uppertail is black. The bill is red with a black tip; the legs and feet are orange. Juvenile Hooded Plovers lack any black feathers. The head is the colour of the wings, the front from the throat downwards is all-white. The bill is yellow with a black tip, the legs are greyish-pink.

Taxonomy, classification See Hooded Plover at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range 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 Hooded Plover is available HERE . There are two races of Hooded Plovers, both of which are endemic to Australia. Race "cucullatus" resides in the South-East of Australia and race "tregellasi" in the South-West of the continent. The range of race "cucullatus", which formerly extended along the Australian East coast as far as northward of Brisbane, QLD, is now significantly reduced. They are found only along the coastal fringe South of Sydney, NSW, along the South coast of VIC and the entire coastline of Tasmania, to about Eyre Peninsula, SA, with a declining population. Race "tregellasi" populates a roughly triangular area in WA, South-west of a line connecting Eucla, on the WA South coast, with Kalbarri NP on the WA West coast (with the exception of the far south-western tip of WA). They are found not only along the coastline, but also inland. Hooded Plovers have a strong preference for beaches, but are found around lagoons too. They are only rarely found around inland freshwater lakes or riverine marshes (mostly in WA).

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "cucullatus" O. Levy reports spotting an Hooded Plover, race "cucullatus", at Racecourse Beach, Ulladulla, NSW, in January 2013. R. Plumtree reports spotting Hooded Plovers, race "cucullatus", at Lakes Entrance, VIC, in June 2017. A. Allnutt found Hooded Plovers, race "cucullatus", nesting at the Wallaga Lake entrance, near Bermagui, NSW, in December 2018. This location is at the north-eastern end of the species' range. Hooded Plovers, race "cucullatus", were found by M. Eaton at Adventure Bay, Bruny Island, TAS, in April 2021. Race "tregellasi" J. Greaves reports spotting a Hooded Plover, race "tregellasi", at Government Lake, Rottnest Island, WA, in February 2016 and again at both Quinninup Beach and Kilcarnup Beach, WA, in December 2016. M. Eaton found a Hooded Plover, race "tregellasi", at both Hamelin Bay, Augusta, Margaret River, WA, and at Gnarabup Beach, Margaret River, WA, in April 2019.

Photos

Race "cucullatus"

ADULT

PAIR

Close-up lateral view of a pair of Hooded Plovers (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Adventure Bay, Bruny Island, TAS, April 2021]

Close-up near-dorsal view of a pair of Hooded Plovers (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Adventure Bay, Bruny Island, TAS, April 2021]

Close-up near-dorsal/dorsal view of a pair of Hooded Plovers (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Adventure Bay, Bruny Island, TAS, April 2021]

Sex unknown

Frontal view of an Hooded Plover (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Lakes Entrance, VIC, June 2017]

Near-frontal view of an Hooded Plover (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Lakes Entrance, VIC, June 2017]

Close-up near-lateral view of an Hooded Plover (photo courtesy of O. Levy)
[Racecourse Beach, Ulladulla, NSW, January 2013]

Lateral view of two Hooded Plovers (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Lakes Entrance, VIC, June 2017]

Lateral view of an Hooded Plover foraging on a beach (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Lakes Entrance, VIC, June 2017]

Race "tregellasi"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of an Hooded Plover (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Gnarabup Beach, Margaret River, WA, April 2019]

Frontal view of an Hooded Plover foraging on a sandy beach (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Quinninup Beach, WA, December 2016]

Near-frontal view of an Hooded Plover (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Gnarabup Beach, Margaret River, WA, April 2019]

Near-lateral view of an Hooded Plover foraging on a sandy beach (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Quinninup Beach, WA, December 2016]

Lateral view of an Hooded Plover (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Hamelin Bay, Augusta, Margaret River, WA, April 2019]

Lateral view of an Hooded Plover (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Gnarabup Beach, Margaret River, WA, April 2019]

Lateral view of an Hooded Plover with ruffled plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Gnarabup Beach, Margaret River, WA, April 2019]

Lateral view of an Hooded Plover walking along the tide line (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Quinninup Beach, WA, December 2016]

Lateral view of an Hooded Plover in shallow water (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Government Lake, Rottnest Island, WA, February 2016]

Lateral view of an Hooded Plover in shallow water (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Government Lake, Rottnest Island, WA, February 2016]

Lateral view of an Hooded Plover digging up prey from a sandy beach (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Quinninup Beach, WA, December 2016]

Near-dorsal view of an Hooded Plover (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Gnarabup Beach, Margaret River, WA, April 2019]

Direct comparison of an adult Hooded Plover, left, with a Red-necked Stint, right (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Government Lake, Rottnest Island, WA, February 2016]

Lateral view of an Hooded Plover in flight (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Government Lake, Rottnest Island, WA, February 2016]

Lateral view of an adult Hooded Plover in flight, different phase of the wing beat (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Government Lake, Rottnest Island, WA, February 2016]

Lateral view of an Hooded Plover banking to land (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Government Lake, Rottnest Island, WA, February 2016]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Sep - Jan

Eggs: 2 - 3

Incubation period: 30 days

Fledging age: ?

The young are "precocial", which means that they leave the nest shortly after every chick has hatched (typically within a day or two of the last chick hatching). They follow their parents, who lead them away and show them how to feed themselves. The chicks do not return to the nest.

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Scrape

Material: Sand, pebbles

Height above ground: N/A

Nests are often built near stones or small shrubs. Nests on beaches, where tides play a role, tend to be higher up on dunes, above the high-tide level, compared to nests along the shores of near-coastal freshwater lakes.

Hooded Plover on its nest, protected by a fence set up by the local Council (photo courtesy of A. Allnutt)
[Wallaga Lake entrance, near Bermagui, NSW, December 2018]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 38 x 27 mm

Colour: Olive-green with dark-brown speckles

Shape: Tapered oval

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

hoodplv_aa_20181221.m4a

(SE NSW)

Alarm calls (human); wind-affected

© AA

More Hooded Plover sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Tue, 23 November 2021, 4:56 +00:00