- Red-kneed Dotterel
Taxobox
name = Red-kneed Dotterel
image_caption =
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo =Charadriiformes
familia =Charadriidae
subfamilia =Vanellinae
genus = "Erythrogonys"
genus_authority = Gould, 1838
species = "E. cinctus"
binomial = " Erythrogonys cinctus "
binomial_authority = Gould,1838 The Red-kneed Dotterel, "Erythrogonys cinctus", is a long-legged, medium-sized (length 17-20 cm, wingspan 33-38 cm, weight 40-55 g) plover in a monotypic genus in the subfamily
Vanellinae . It is often gregarious and will associate with other waders of its own and different species, even when nesting. It is nomadic and sometimes irruptive.Description
Adults distinctively marked: Black cap or hood from bill, extending below eyes, merging at nape to grey-brown of back. White chin and throat. Broad black band on breast joining nape and also extending to flanks as chestnut stripe. Belly and vent white. Back and mantle grey-brown, mainly black upperwing with white trailing edge. Upper leg, including tarsal joint or “knee”, red. Bill red with dark tip.
Distribution
Southern
New Guinea and mainlandAustralia ; vagrant toTasmania andNew Zealand .Habitat
Mainly margins of shallow ephemeral and permanent freshwater
wetland s, occasionally saline wetlands, but rarely tidal wetlands.Food
Arthropod s,mollusc s,annelid s and seeds.Breeding
Nests on ground on wetland margins, sometimes using nests of other birds such as
Hoary-headed Grebe s. Lays clutch of four cream eggs profusely covered with lines, speckles or blotches. Youngprecocial andnidifugous .Conservation
With a large range and no evidence of significant population decline, this species’ conservation status is of
Least Concern .References
* BirdLife International. (2006). Species factsheet: "Erythrogonys cinctus". Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 16 March 2007
* Marchant, S.; Higgins, P.J.; & Davies, J.N. (eds). (1994). "Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Volume 2: Raptors to Lapwings". Oxford University Press: Melbourne. ISBN 0-19-553069-1
* National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife. (1987). "The Shorebirds of Australia". Angus & Robertson: Sydney. ISBN 0-207-15348-5
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.