Plover

The bird family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings, about 63 species in all.

Description
They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings, but most species of lapwing may have more rounded wings. Their bill are usually straight (except for the Wrybill) and short, their toes are short, hind toe could be reduced or absent, depending on species. Most Charadriidae also have relatively short tails, the Killdeer is the exception. In most genera, the sexes are similar, very little sexual dimorphism occurs between sexes. They range in size from the Collared Plover, at 26 grams and 14 cm (5.5 inches), to the Masked Lapwing, at 368 grams (13 oz) and 35 cm (14 inches).

Sexual differences are slight, with males usually brighter than females. They typically moult their contour/body feathers in spring.

Taxonomy
Taxonomy is based on Dos Remedios et al.

Charadriinae
The Rufous-chested Dotterel (or Plover) turns out to be sister to the Diademed Sandpiper-Plover and is placed in a new genus Zonibyx. Forbes Plover is sister to the Hooded Dotterel, Thinornis cucullatus (sometimes called rubricollis). The Three-banded Plover is basal to both Thinornis and the now-restricted Charadrius The genus Thinornis has grown by absorbing Elseyornis and adding the Little Ringed Plover (from Charadrius).

Oreopholus

 * Tawny-throated Dotterel, Oreopholus ruficollis

Phegornis

 * Diademed Sandpiper-Plover, Phegornis mitchellii

Zonibyx

 * Rufous-chested Dotterel / Rufous-chested Plover, Zonibyx modestus

Eudromias

 * Eurasian Dotterel, Eudromias morinellus

Afroxyechus

 * Three-banded Plover, Afroxyechus tricollaris

Charadrius

 * Killdeer, Charadrius vociferus
 * Semipalmated Plover, Charadrius semipalmatus
 * Common Ringed Plover, Charadrius hiaticula
 * Piping Plover, Charadrius melodus

Thinornis

 * Hooded Dotterel, Thinornis cucullatus
 * Black-fronted Dotterel, Thinornis melanops
 * Little Ringed Plover, Thinornis dubius
 * Shore Dotterel/Shore Plover, Thinornis novaeseelandiae
 * Long-billed Plover, Thinornis placidus
 * Auckland Islands Shore Plover, Thinornis rossi

Vanellus

 * Northern Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus
 * Long-toed Lapwing, Vanellus crassirostris
 * Blacksmith Lapwing, Vanellus armatus
 * Spur-winged Lapwing, Vanellus spinosus
 * River Lapwing, Vanellus duvaucelii
 * Black-headed Lapwing, Vanellus tectus
 * Yellow-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus malarbaricus
 * White-crowned Lapwing, Vanellus albiceps
 * Senegal Lapwing, Vanellus lugubris
 * Black-winged Lapwing, Vanellus melanopterus
 * Crowned Plover / Crowned Lapwing, Vanellus coronatus
 * African Wattled Lapwing, Vanellus senegallus
 * Spot-breasted Lapwing, Vanellus melanocephalus
 * Brown-chested Lapwing, Vanellus superciliosus
 * Grey-headed Lapwing, Vanellus cinereus
 * Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
 * Javan Lapwing, Vanellus macropterus
 * Banded Lapwing, Vanellus tricolor
 * Masked Lapwing, Vanellus miles
 * Sociable Lapwing, Vanellus gregarius
 * White-tailed Lapwing, Vanellus leucurus
 * Pied Lapwing / Pied Plover, Vanellus cayanus
 * Southern Lapwing, Vanellus chilensis
 * Andean Lapwing, Vanellus resplendens

Erythrogonys

 * Red-kneed Dotterel, Erythrogonys cinctus

Peltohyas

 * Inland Dotterel, Peltohyas australis

Eupoda

 * Caspian Plover, Eupoda asiatica
 * Oriental Plover, Eupoda veredus
 * Greater Sand-Plover, Eupoda leschenaultii
 * Lesser Sand-Plover, Eupoda mongola

Anarhynchus

 * Wrybill, Anarhynchus frontalis
 * Double-banded Plover, Anarhynchus bicinctus
 * New Zealand Plover, Anarhynchus obscurus

Ochthodromus

 * Mountain Plover, Ochthodromus montanus
 * Snowy Plover, Ochthodromus nivosus
 * Chestnut-banded Plover, Ochthodromus pallidus
 * Kentish Plover, Ochthodromus alexandrinus
 * White-fronted Plover, Ochthodromus marginatus
 * Javan Plover, Ochthodromus javanicus
 * Malaysian Plover, Ochthodromus peronii
 * Red-capped Plover, Ochthodromus ruficapillus
 * Kittlitz's Plover, Ochthodromus pecuarius
 * St. Helena Plover, Ochthodromus sanctaehelenae
 * Madagascan Plover, Ochthodromus thoracicus
 * Wilson's Plover, Ochthodromus wilsonia
 * Collared Plover, Ochthodromus collaris
 * Puna Plover, Ochthodromus alticola
 * Two-banded Plover, Ochthodromus falklandicus

Distribution and habitat
They are distributed through open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water, although there are some exceptions: the Inland Dotterel, for example, prefers stony ground in the deserts of central and western Australia.

Diet and feeding
They hunt by sight, rather than by feel as longer-billed waders like snipe do. Foods eaten include aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates such as insects, worms, molluscs and crustaceans depending on habitat, and are usually obtained by a run-and-pause technique, rather than the steady probing of some other wader groups. They also feed on plant material.

Breeding
While breeding, they defend their territories with highly visible aerial displays. . Charadriidae are protective over their eggs and offspring. The parents protect their young by uttering an alarm call, performing distraction display and they may even attack the predator or intruder. Both parents take care of their offspring. The chicks are precocial; their parents do not feed them. Most species are monogamous, while less are polygamous.

Most members of the family are known as plovers, lapwings or dotterels. These were rather vague terms which were not applied with any great consistency in the past. In general, larger species have often been called lapwings, smaller species plovers or dotterels and there are in fact two clear taxonomic sub-groups: most lapwings belong to the subfamily Vanellinae, most plovers and dotterels to Charadriinae or Anarhynchinae.

The trend in recent years has been to rationalise the common names of the Charadriidae. For example, the large and very common Australian bird traditionally known as the ‘Spur-winged Plover’, is now the Masked Lapwing; the former ‘Sociable Plover’ is now the Sociable Lapwing.