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9

Red-capped Plover (Charadrius ruficapillus) Alternate name(s): "Red-capped Dotterel"; misnomers: "Sandlark", "Sandpiper*" Size: 14-16 cm; wing span 27-34 cm Weight: 30-45 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 Red-capped Plovers are very small waders. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females have different plumages. In addition, they have different breeding and non-breeding plumages. During the breeding season male Red-capped Plovers have a deep chestnut-brown cap and nape of the neck, with a black patch on the forehead, a thin black eye stripe and an otherwise white face. The upperparts (mantle and upperwings) are brownish-grey, with dark-grey wing tips. The front (face, throat, chest, belly and vent) is all-white. The irises, bill, legs and feet are all black. Female Red-capped Plovers have an identical overall morphology, only the chestnut-brown colouring of the head is much less conspicuous, with only a slight chestnut tinge through roughly the same brownish-grey colour as the rest of the upperparts. In non-breeding plumage males look more like breeding females and females become more inconspicuous yet. Juvenile Red-capped Plovers have all mottled dark grey-brown upperparts, including the head. Twitcher's tip Compared to other small species of plovers, the Red-capped Plover is the only one with a chestnut-coloured cap. 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.

Taxonomy, classification See Red-capped 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 Red-capped Plover is available HERE . Red-capped Plovers breed only in Australia, including islands along the Torres Strait. Outside the breeding season they are also found in eastern Indonesia and Timor Leste and, as vagrants, in New Zealand. In Australia, Red-capped Plovers live mostly along the coastal fringe and in the South-East of the continent, from VIC to southern SA (including the Lake Eyre Basin) and into south-western NSW. They are also found regularly in the South-West of WA. After substantial inland rainfall they can disperse to basically anywhere on the Australian continent, including the most arid parts of the interior. Red-capped Plovers are also common in Tasmania, especially all around its coastline. Red-capped Plovers can be found along the edges of various types of water, from beaches and estuaries (saline, brackish) to inland freshwater lakes and ephemeral lakes.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Red-capped Plovers were spotted by us around the edges of a saltmarsh near the mouth of the Manning River, close to Old Bar, NSW, in June 2011 and again in September 2011. In August/September 2011 a small flock of 16 Red-capped Plovers was spotted on the North shore of Goran Lake, an ephemeral lake about 30 km South of Gunnedah, NSW. During previous visits Red-capped Plovers had not been found there. In May 2012 a flock of about 50 birds was seen there, in both breeding and non-breeding plumage. A similar number was still present in October 2012. They were usually observed by us there in mixed flocks with Double-banded Plovers. The species was found again at the same location from January 2022 onwards, when they also had a few Red-necked Stints around them. C. Hayne reports that a small group of up to 15 Red-capped Plovers was seen, together with Black-fronted Dotterels and Red-kneed Dotterels, wading around the edges of farm dams and ephemeral wetlands near Moree, NSW, in September 2009 to January 2010. In August 2014 we found Red-capped Plovers at Lee Point beach, Darwin, NT. Contributors also report finding the species along the coastline of the NT in and around Darwin, NT, semi-regularly, where they also have been found breeding. J. Greaves reports spotting a flock of more than 50 Red-capped Plovers at Lake Gnangara, Perth, WA, in January 2015. Others were found at Rottnest Island, Perth, WA, in November 2015, on Kangaroo Island, SA, in March 2016 and at Boodjidup Beach, WA, in December 2016. M. Mearns spotted Red-capped Plovers in the Kinkuna section of Burrum Coast NP, near Bundaberg, QLD, in October 2015, and another at Carmila Beach, QLD, in September 2019. M. Eaton reports finding Red-capped Plovers semi-regularly in various locations along the coastline of south-eastern QLD. M. Windeyer reports finding Red-capped Plovers in an ephemeral wetland near Gilgandra, NSW, in June 2020.

Photos

ADULT

MALE

Close-up frontal view of a male Red-capped Plover; note the black loral stripe
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Clarendon, QLD, November 2018]

Close-up near-frontal view of a male Red-capped Plover
[Goran Lake, NSW, February 2022]

Near-lateral view of a male Red-capped Plover

Near-lateral view of a male Red-capped Plover

Close-up lateral view of a male Red-capped Plover (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Clarendon, QLD, November 2018]

Lateral view of a male Red-capped Plover (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Buffalo Creek beach, Darwin, NT, August 2020]

Lateral view of a male Red-capped Plover in breeding plumage on the edge of a salt marsh
[Near Old Bar, NSW, June 2011]

Lateral view of a male Red-capped Plover; click on image to see the bird as part of a small flock
[Goran Lake, NSW, May 2012]

Lateral and near-dorsal views of male Red-capped Plovers (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Broadwater, Gold Coast, QLD, March 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a preening male Red-capped Plover
[Goran Lake, NSW, February 2022]

Dorsal view of a male Red-capped Plover with a deformed bill (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Broadwater, Gold Coast, QLD, March 2019]

Comparison between Red-capped Plovers (male right; female centre) and a Black-fronted Dotterel (left)
[Goran Lake, NSW, May 2012]

Three birds in flight: Male Red-capped Plover, right, female centre, and Red-necked Stint, left
[Lee Point beach, Darwin, NT, August 2014]

FEMALE

Close-up frontal view of a female Red-capped Plover; note the rufous-grey loral stripe that widens under the eyes
(photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Boodjidup Beach, WA, December 2016]

Frontal view of a female Red-capped Plover (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Fraser Island, QLD, September 2018]

Close-up near-frontal view of a female Red-capped Plover
[Goran Lake, NSW, February 2022]

Lateral view of a female Red-capped Plover (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Fraser Island, QLD, September 2018]

Lateral view of a female Red-capped Plover

Lateral view of a female Red-capped Plover (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Clarendon, QLD, November 2018]

Dorsal view of a female Red-capped Plover (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Broadwater, Gold Coast, QLD, March 2019]

Dorsal/ventral view of a female Red-capped Plover (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Fraser Island, QLD, September 2018]

Dorsal view of a female Red-capped Plover in flight (photo courtesy of R. Druce)

Small flock of Red-capped Plovers just after takeoff
[Goran Lake, NSW, May 2012]

PAIR

BREEDING

Frontal/lateral view of a pair of Red-capped Plovers, female in front, male in breeding plumage
[Goran Lake, NSW, February 2022]

Lateral view of a pair of Red-capped Plovers, male in front in breeding plumage
[Goran Lake, NSW, February 2022]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-frontal view of a juvenile Red-capped Plover
[Goran Lake, NSW, February 2022]

Near-frontal view of a juvenile Red-capped Plover; note the all grey-brown cap and nape of the neck
[Goran Lake, NSW, February 2022]

Near-lateral view of a juvenile Red-capped Plover
[Goran Lake, NSW, February 2022]

Lateral view of a juvenile Red-capped Plover, left (note the scalloped upperparts), immature(?) Red-capped Plover, far left, adult male in front and Red-necked Stint on the right
[Goran Lake, NSW, February 2022]

Near-dorsal view of an immature Red-capped Plover; note the still partly white lores (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Broadwater, Gold Coast, QLD, March 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a resting juvenile Red-capped Plover
[Goran Lake, NSW, February 2022]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Sep - Dec

Eggs: 3 - 5

Incubation period: 31 - 33 days

Fledging age: N/A

Ekanayake et al. (Proc Biol Sciv. 282(1806) May 2015) determined that pairs of Red-capped Plovers (or birds living in open habitats such as beaches in general) tend to divide both incubation and dependent care duties in such a way that the one with the dullest (and therefore most cryptic) plumage is in attendance during the day (when visual predators are active), while the bird with the more colourful plumage takes over the night shift.

Female Red-capped Plover in dull plumage protecting its two young chicks under its wings (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Buffalo Creek beach, Darwin, NT, July 2020]

Female Red-capped Plover in dull plumage with one of two young chicks (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Buffalo Creek beach, Darwin, NT, July 2020]

The two Red-capped Plover chicks under mum's care (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Buffalo Creek beach, Darwin, NT, July 2020]

Female Red-capped Plover in dull plumage attending to its young chick (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point beach, Darwin, NT, August 2017]

Nest building: N/A

Incubation: Female & male

Dependent care: Female & male

Nest

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

Type: Scrape

Material: Sandy or rocky soil

Height above ground: N/A

Overview of a Red-capped Plover nest in wheat chaff
[Goran Lake, NSW, February 2022]

Red-capped Plover nest with a full complement of 2 eggs (photo courtesy of D. Dyer)
[Ronsard Bay, Cervantes, WA, September 2020]

Frontal view of a male Red-capped Plover at its nest site
[Goran Lake, NSW, February 2022]

Male Red-capped Plover sitting down to incubate its clutch of 2
[Goran Lake, NSW, February 2022]

Female Red-capped Plover seen incubating the eggs in the nest shown above (photo courtesy of D. Dyer)
[Ronsard Bay, Cervantes, WA, September 2020]

Lateral view of a female Red-capped Plover on its nest
[Goran Lake, NSW, February 2022]

Female Red-capped Plover on its nest (photo courtesy of R. Brinsley)
[Samphire flats near Venus Bay, Eyre Peninsula, SA, October 2015]

Eggs

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

Size: 37 x 27 mm

Colour: Creamy, copious mid- to dark-brown speckles

Shape: Tapered oval

Close view of a Red-capped Plover nest with a full complement of 2 eggs
[Goran Lake, NSW, February 2022]

Red-capped Plover nest with 2 eggs (photo courtesy of D. Dyer)
[Ronsard Bay, Cervantes, WA, September 2020]

Red-capped Plover nest with 2 eggs in it (photo courtesy of R. Brinsley)
[Seaweed bank at James Well, Yorke Peninsula, October 2018]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: ?

Mobility: Sedentary/dispersive

Elementary unit: Pair/group

Red-capped Plovers are one of the bird species that pretend injury to distract intruders and lure them away from either nest or chicks.

Close-up frontal view of a female Red-capped Plover pretending to have a broken wing (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Boodjidup Beach, WA, December 2016]

Another female Red-capped Plover doing a "broken wing routine" (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point beach, Darwin, NT, July 2017]

Female Red-capped Plover trying to distract the observer (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point beach, Darwin, NT, July 2017]

Female Red-capped Plover trying to distract the observer (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point beach, Darwin, NT, July 2017]

Like many other waders, Red-capped Plovers prefer to evade disturbances by running along the waterfront, rather than flying away.

Male Red-capped Plover noticing the photographer
[Near Old Bar, NSW, September 2011]

The Red-capped Plover turned sideways...
[Near Old Bar, NSW, September 2011]

... and walked around the observer along the shore of a salt marsh
[Near Old Bar, NSW, September 2011]

This female Red-capped Plover showed the photographer a clean pair of heels
[Near Old Bar, NSW, September 2011]

Red-capped Plover are very fast runners
[Goran Lake, NSW, February 2022]

Flock of Red-capped Plovers hiding in plain view, on accumulated wheat chaff
[Goran Lake, NSW, February 2022]

"Find that bird"! Flock of Red-capped Plovers hiding in plain view, on accumulated wheat chaff (click on image for larger version [14 MB!]; there should be about 24 birds in the field-of-view)
[Goran Lake, NSW, April 2022]

Food, Diet

Red-capped Plovers dig small animals out of sand, as seen in the photo below.

Female Red-capped Plover with its prey, a small insect
[Goran Lake, NSW, February 2022]

Red-capped Plover trying to gulp down its prey
[Near Old Bar, NSW, June 2011]

Male Red-capped Plover digging up a meal from the sand (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Boodjidup Beach, WA, December 2016]

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.

redcplv_20220218_2.m4a	(NW NSW)	Contact calls?	© MD
redcplv_20220218_4.m4a	(NW NSW)	Contact calls? (in-flight)	© MD
redcplv_20220218_3.m4a	(NW NSW)	Warning call	© MD
redcplv_20190619.m4a	(NW NSW)	Warning calls	© MD
redcplv_20220218.m4a	(NW NSW)	Warning calls and territorial calls	© MD
redcplv_pb_20210123_2.m4a	(Darwin, NT)	Several birds interacting	© PB
redcplv_pb_20210123.m4a	(Darwin, NT)	Various (departure & in flight)	© PB

More Red-capped 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, 19 April 2022, 22:11 +00:00