Charadrius alexandrinus

Chorlito Nφveo,
Playero Blanco

Audio
(R. Rodríguez Mojica)

IDENTIFICATION: A small shorebird with very pale, sandy-brown upperparts, white underparts and small patches of black on the side of the neck, on the forehead, and behind the eye. The legs and bill are black. Length: 15-17 cm.; weight: 34-58 g.

VOICE: The call is a low-pitched double note, "chew-wee." Audio (R. Rodríguez Mojica).

HABITAT: Primarily edges of salt ponds, but potentially on wide sandy beach areas.

HABITS: Plucks prey off the surface of mud, sand or water; or probes for insect larvae and other invertebrates. It sometimes taps its feet on the surface to scare up prey, and also will snatch flying insects from the air. Pairs form by January. The male starts building a nest depression in a dry, sandy area. During the 25-28 day incubation period, both sexes line the nest with small pebbles and shells. Three eggs are typical in a clutch. Young birds leave the nest and start hunting for food a few hours after hatching. However adults brood the chicks intermittently after they have left the nest. Chicks first fly about 28-33 days after hatching.

STATUS AND CONSERVATION: An uncommon, localized permanent resident in Puerto Rico. The nests are vulnerable to predators and human disturbance, so strict protection of the breeding area at Cabo Rojo is essential for the continued existence of this species in Puerto Rico.

RANGE: Breeds on Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and some of the Bahamas and Virgin Islands. Also breeds at inland salt flats of western North America, and on the Gulf and Pacific Coasts south to Baja California and Yucatán. Also found in the Old World. In Puerto Rico, regularly found only at the Cabo Rojo salt flats.

TAXONOMY: CHARADRIIFORMES; CHARADRIIDAE; Charadriinae. Called Kentish Plover in European books.

References

Bent, A.C. 1929. Life histories of North American shore birds, part 2. Smithsonian Instit. U.S. National Museum Bull. 146. (Reprinted by Dover Press, NY, 1962).

Collazo, J.A., B.A. Harrington, J. Grear, and J.A. Colón. 1995. Abundance and distribution of shorebirds at the Cabo Rojo salt flats, Puerto Rico. J. Field Ornithol. 66:424-438.

del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal, eds. 1996. Handbook of Birds of the World, Vol. 3. Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Ferland, C.L. , and S.M. Haig. 2002. International Piping and Snowy Plover winter and breeding census. USGS Forest and Rangleand Ecosystem Science Center, Corvallis OR 97331.

Hayman, P., J. Marchant, and T. Prater. 1986. Shorebirds: an identification guide. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.

Page, G. W., J. Warriner, J. Warriner and P. W. C. Paton. 1995. Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus). No. 154 in The birds of North America (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, PA, and Am. Ornithol. Union, Washington, D.C.

Paton, P. W. C. 1999. Rare, local, little known, and declining North American breeders. A closer look. Snowy Plover. Birding 31:238-244.

Paulson, D. 1993. Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest. Univ Washington, Seattle.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. Una guía a las aves de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. Publishing Resources, Inc., Santurce, PR.

Raffaele, H.A., J.W. Wiley, O.H. Garrido, A.R. Keith, and J.I. Raffaele. 1998. Guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton.

Wunderle, J.M., Jr., R.B. Waide, and J. Fernández. 1989. Seasonal abundance of shorebirds in the Jobos estuary in southern Puerto Rico. J. Field Ornithol. 60:329-339.

Snowy Plover, Spanish text

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