Eurasian dotterel
Eurasian dotterel | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Charadriiformes |
Family: | Charadriidae |
Genus: | Eudromias Brehm, CL, 1830 |
Species: | E. morinellus
|
Binomial name | |
Eudromias morinellus | |
Range of C. morinellus
Breeding Passage Non-breeding
|
The Eurasian dotterel (Eudromias morinellus), also known in Europe as just dotterel, is a small wader in the plover family of birds. It is the only species placed in the genus Eudromias.
The dotterel is a brown-and-black-streaked bird with a broad, white eye stripe and an orange-red chest band when in breeding plumage. The female is more colourful than the male. The bird is tame and unsuspecting, and the term "dotterel" has been applied contemptuously to mean an old fool.
The Eurasian dotterel is a migratory species, breeding in Northern Europe and
Taxonomy and etymology
The Eurasian dotterel was
The English name dates from 1440 when it was used to refer to the bird and also as an insult for someone considered simple or a dotard. Which use is the oldest is unclear,
Description
This plover is smaller and more compact than European golden plover (Pluvialis apricaria). It has a striking whitish supercilium in all plumages and has plain wings in flight. Adults in summer are unmistakable, with a chestnut breast bordered above with white, black belly, and warm-brown back. The legs are yellow, and the short bill is black. As with the phalaropes, the female is brighter than the male. Winter birds lack the rich underpart colouration, apart from the white breast line, and are greyer above. Young birds are similar, but have a scaly appearance to their backs. The flight call is a soft pyurr. The female's song is a simple, repetitive whistle.
Distribution and habitat
It breeds in the Arctic tundra of northern
Behaviour and ecology
The dotterel's diet is made up of insects and other small invertebrates such as snails, worms, and shellfish. These are obtained by a run-and-pause technique, rather than the steady probing used by other waders.
The male dotterel generally is responsible for incubation and looks after the chicks. In most cases, the cock dotterel successfully prevents other males from getting his mate and fertilizing her eggs. He usually rears chicks that he has fathered and only 4.6% (2/44) of chicks were not the genetic offspring of the caring male, corresponding to 9.1% (2/22) broods affected.[12]
Status
It is a relatively common species with a wide range. Populations seem to be declining slowly, but not alarmingly so, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as a "least-concern species". A survey published in 2015 showed a fall in dotterel numbers in Scotland between 1987 and 2011, from 980 to 423 breeding males - representing a decline of 57%.[13]
The Eurasian dotterel is one of the species to which the
-
Male with chicks
-
Juvenile
-
Female with chick - only the fourth record ever
-
Nest
-
ID composite
-
Egg –MHNT
References
- . Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 150.
- ^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1934). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 2. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 257.
- .
- .
- ^ Brehm, Alfred (1830). "Beschluss der Uebersicht der deutschen Vögel". Isis von Oken (in German and Latin). 23. cols 985–1013 [987].
- ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ "Dotterel". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- ^ Armstrong, Robert Archibald (1825). A Gaelic Dictionary in Two Parts. To which is Prefixed a New Gaelic Grammar. Duncan. p. 20.
amadan-mòintich.
- ISBN 978-1-85284-346-5.
- ^ Weir, Alison"The Six Wives of Henry VIII" Pimlico edition 1992 p. 264
- .
- ^ "Changes in the abundance and distribution of a montane specialist bird". Taylor & Francis. Vol. 62, no. 4. Bird Study. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
Further reading
- Hayman, Peter; Marchant, John; Prater, Tony (1991). Shorebirds: An Identification Guide to the Waders of the World. ISBN 978-0-7099-2034-2.
- Tsherbakov, B.V. "Breeding Dotterels Charadrius morinellus in the Altai mountains of Kazakhstan" (PDF). International Wader Studies. 10: 342–344.
It is not only the males which incubate clutches and rear the chicks: on 24 June 1971, a female was collected from a nest with eggs.
External links
- Ageing and sexing (PDF; 3.1 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze
- Charadrius morinellus in Field Guide: Birds of the World on Flickr
- BirdLife species factsheet for Charadrius morinellus
- "Charadrius morinellus". Avibase.
- "Eurasian dotterel media". Internet Bird Collection.
- Eurasian dotterel photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
- Interactive range map of Charadrius morinellus at IUCN Red List maps
- Audio recordings of Eurasian dotterel on Xeno-canto.
- Eurasian dotterel media from ARKive