The double-banded plover, known as the banded dotterel or pohowera in New Zealand, is a species of bird in the plover family. Two subspecies are recognised: the nominate Charadrius bicinctus bicinctus, which breeds throughout New Zealand, including the Chatham Islands, and Charadrius bicinctus exilis, which breeds in New Zealand's subantarctic Auckland Islands.
Region
Southwest Pacific (New Zealand and nearby islands)
Typical Environment
Breeds widely across New Zealand, from South Island braided riverbeds, inland saline lakes, and high-country tussock to coastal dunes and beaches; also on the Chatham Islands and the subantarctic Auckland Islands (subspecies exilis). Outside the breeding season many shift to sheltered coasts, harbors, estuaries, and mudflats. A proportion migrates to southeastern Australia and occasionally to other southwest Pacific islands. On the Auckland Islands it nests on open tundra-like herbfields near the coast.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Also called the banded dotterel or pohowera (Māori), this small plover shows two chest bands in breeding plumage—black bordered by chestnut in males. Many birds move to coastal estuaries in winter, with some crossing the Tasman Sea to Australia and the southwest Pacific. Chicks are precocial and leave the nest within hours, relying on camouflage and parental distraction displays to evade predators.
Double-banded plover in Tasmania transitioning to breeding plumage
Banded dotterel egg, Auckland Museum collection
Banded dotterel chick (mounted), Auckland Museum collection
Temperament
wary and territorial during breeding; more social outside the breeding season
Flight Pattern
low, fast flight with rapid wingbeats and quick jinks
Social Behavior
Typically nests singly or in loose colonies on open ground, scraping a shallow nest among stones or sparse vegetation. Both parents incubate and brood, and perform distraction displays to lure predators away. Non-breeding birds form small to medium flocks on estuaries and beaches.
Migratory Pattern
Partial migrant
Song Description
A soft, piping series of whistles, often rendered as a high, thin 'peeep' or 'tu-ee'. During display flights, calls become more repeated and excited; alarm notes are sharper and more insistent near the nest.
