The chestnut-banded plover is a species of bird in the family Charadriidae. This species has a large range, being distributed across Southern Africa. However, it occupies a rather small area.
Region
Southern Africa and the East African Rift
Typical Environment
Occurs patchily around coastal salt pans and lagoons of Namibia and adjacent South Africa, and inland at large saline pans in Botswana. A disjunct population inhabits soda lakes of the East African Rift, such as Lake Natron and Lake Magadi. Prefers barren to sparsely vegetated shorelines with shallow water and exposed mud or salt crust. It avoids densely vegetated margins and relies on stable shallow edges for foraging and nesting.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2500 m
Climate Zone
Arid
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A small, elegant shorebird of saline lakes and pans, the chestnut-banded plover is named for the rich rufous band that crosses its breast in breeding plumage. It often concentrates at a few key wetlands, making it sensitive to local habitat changes. Pairs nest on open, sparsely vegetated shores, relying on camouflage and distraction displays to protect their eggs.
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats, low over water
Social Behavior
Often forms small to medium flocks on favored pans outside the breeding season. Typically monogamous, nesting in a simple scrape on open ground near water. Adults perform distraction displays to draw predators away from nests and chicks.
Migratory Pattern
Partial migrant
Song Description
Vocalizations are soft, piping whistles and short peeps, given in contact and during display flights. Alarm calls are sharper and more insistent, carrying over open shorelines.
Plumage
Clean white underparts with a conspicuous chestnut breast band in breeding plumage, bordered by fine black lines; upperparts pale grey-brown and smooth. Non-breeding birds show a duller, fragmented band and more subdued head pattern.
Diet
Feeds mainly on small invertebrates such as brine flies and their larvae, beetles, small crustaceans, and other arthropods gleaned from wet edges and salt crusts. Uses a run-stop-peck foraging style typical of plovers. Will probe lightly in soft mud and pick prey from the surface film.
Preferred Environment
Shallow margins of saline lakes, coastal salt pans, and evaporation ponds with open, sparsely vegetated edges. Often forages along exposed mudflats, salt crusts, and gently sloping shorelines.
