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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

Similar
species

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

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Hooded Plover at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

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.