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Inland Dotterel
(Charadrius australis)
: "Desert Plover", "Australian Dotterel"
Size: 19-22 cm; wing span 43-47 cm
Weight: 80 g (average)
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Physical description |
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 Click here for a physical description
Inland Dotterels are small birds that are closely related to
waders. During the
breeding season they have a creamy-white neck and face, with a
black bar extending vertically from below the eyes ("tear drop") that
continues upward across the width of the cap.
The back of the head is mottled buff with black. They have
a prominent black "V" from the chest to the nape of the neck,
which is lined by buff stripes, below which the belly is
chestnut and the vent is white. The upperparts are cryptic, with dark-brown
upperwing feathers with light-brown edge lining and a mottled
brown tail. The bill is grey, the legs are greyish-buff.
In eclipse Inland Dotterels may lack the black markings described
above.
Juvenile Inland Dotterels also lack any black markings.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Inland
Dotterel at Wikipedia  .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based
on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
.
The global distribution of the Inland Dotterel is available
HERE
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Inland Dotterels are endemic to Australia. Their range and
distribution are very complex - for details refer to a field
guide. Inland Dotterels can in principle be found anywhere
in the interior, South of a line connecting Eighty Mile Beach,
WA, with Mt. Isa, QLD, and West of a line connecting roughly
Mt. Isa - Longreach - Charleville, QLD, and Walgett - Narrandera,
NSW. They usually stay in parts of the Murray River catchment
(NSW/VIC), the Lake Eyre Basin (SA), the Diamantina (QLD) and
western inland WA. From there they disperse into the rest of
the interior, including the Nullarbor and the Great Sandy
Deserts of WA/NT/SA.
Inland Dotterels have a preference for arid environments, such
as desert,
gibber and
sparse grassland.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
C. Charles
reports spotting Inland Dotterels near the Diamantina
Development Road crossing of the Diamantina River, QLD, in
August 2013.
All photographic and sighting information presented
on this page has kindly been contributed by C. Charles.
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Photos |
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ADULT |
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BREEDING |
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Near-frontal view of an Inland Dotterel in breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of C. Charles)
[Diamantina River, QLD, August 2013]
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.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
Call/s
