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Birds

Birds

Common name Kentish plover
Scientific name Charadrius alexandrinus
Type Waterbirds
Status Summer

Small wader bird (approx 17 cm or 6.5 in). Black legs and bill. White underparts and cinnamon coloured upperparts. Cinnamon head and nape with black stripes on the eyes (mask), neck and forehead. Females and juveniles with reduced black spots.

Habitats

Wetlands and Marine environment

Where it lives

Species linked to the shores of brackish and littoral environments, whether coastal or inland.

How it lives

Bird present all year round in the province, both as a summer and breeding species and as a wintering one. It breeds on our beaches from April. Two annual layings of 3 eggs in nests in the sand or among pebbles. The Kentish Plover feeds on crustaceans, molluscs, worms and insects that it searches on the shores and in shallow waters with a depth no greater than the length of its bill. This species nests in scattered colonies or alone. Very territorial.

Where it can be seen in Malaga

It can be easily observed on the shores of undegraded beaches along the coast, such as the Dunas de Artola and on the coast of Estepona and Manilva. Also at the mouth of rivers such as the Guadalmina.

Curious facts

Sandpipers and plovers are the smallest waders. One way to distinguish them is their behaviour regarding waves or their flight when they stand up because they feel scared. Sandpipers go towards the sea and plovers go towards the interior of the coast.

Present
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Wintering Summer Resident Migration
Audios