Charadrius morinellus Linnaeus, 1758

Size Comparison

This plover species is smaller and more compact than the European golden plover (Pluvialis apricaria).

Markings and Wings

It has a prominent whitish supercilium in every plumage, and its wings are plain when in flight.

Summer Adult Plumage

Summer adults are easily identified: they have a chestnut breast bordered above by white, a black belly, and a warm-brown back.

Extremity Coloration

Their legs are yellow, and their short bill is black.

Sexual Dimorphism

Like phalaropes, female dotterels are brighter in colour than males.

Winter Adult Plumage

Winter individuals lose the rich colouration of their underparts, only retaining the white breast line, and are greyer on their upperparts.

Juvenile Plumage

Young birds look similar to winter adults, but have a scaly pattern on their backs.

Vocalizations

The species' flight call is a soft pyurr, and the female's song is a simple, repetitive whistle.

Breeding Range

This species breeds in Arctic tundra across northern Eurosiberia, ranging from Norway to eastern Siberia, and also on suitable mountain plateaus including the Scottish Highlands and the Alps.

Wintering Range

It is a migratory species, and winters in a narrow belt across North Africa that extends east from Morocco to Iran.

Migration Stopover Sites

Migration stopover sites are traditional, and small groups of dotterel pass through these typically inland arable or grassy sites each year.

Winter Habitat

The species' winter habitat is semi-desert.

Diet Composition

The dotterel's diet consists of insects and other small invertebrates, including snails, worms, and shellfish.

Foraging Technique

It catches prey using a run-and-pause foraging technique, instead of the steady probing method used by other waders.

Parental Care

Generally, male dotterels are responsible for incubating eggs and caring for chicks.

Mating Guarding

In most cases, a male dotterel successfully prevents other males from mating with his partner and fertilizing her eggs.

Paternity Rates

He usually only raises chicks that he has fathered; only 4.6% (2 out of 44) of chicks are not the genetic offspring of the caring male, which corresponds to 9.1% (2 out of 22) of broods being affected.