#phegornis

[herpsandbirds]

Diademed Sandpiper-Plovers or Diademed Plovers (Phegornis mitchellii), family Charadriidae, order Charadriiformes, High Andes of Chile

photographs: David Stowe & Kenneth Stuckey

[alonglistofbirds]

[2949/11080] Diademed sandpiper-plover - Phegornis mitchellii

Order: Charadriiformes Suborder: Charadrii Family: Charadriidae

Photo credit: Pablo Martinez Morales via Macaulay Library

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Phegornis mitchellii

By Francesco Veronesi, CC BY-SA 2.0 

Etymology: Splendorous Bird

First Described By: Gray, 1846

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Aequorlitornithes, Charadriiformes, Charadrii, Charadriida, Charadriidae, Charadriinae

Status: Extant, Near Threatened

Time and Place: Within the last 10,000 years, in the Holocene of the Quaternary 

The Diademed Plover can be found along the Pacific coast of South America 

Physical Description: The Diademed Plover is a beautiful and distinctive wading bird, though quite small for its group - never growing longer than 20 centimeters in length. It has a long, thin bill, like other plovers, and a very black head with a white ring around the top of the head - hence its name, Diademed, as it looks like it has a crown on its head. It has a red patch on the back of its neck, and the front of its neck is white; while its belly and rump are white with black stripes. The back of the Diademed Plover, meanwihle, is brown. It has long, thin, and yellow legs; while its wings are rather short, leading to an undulating flight style. All sexes look alike, while the juveniles look more grey and less distinctive.

Diet: The diet of the Diademed Plover is uncertain at this time.

Behavior: Though its diet may be murkey, the Diademed Plover does have some known feeding habits, such as feeding in hidden spots - especially eroded holes and creeks. They will probe the ground with their bill, and pick off food from aquatic plants. They usually forage alone, or in mated pairs, but no more than that. They call to each other while foraging, making “pic pic pic” sounds; they make quiet chattering when meeting up after being separated. They also make sharp whistling calls as alarms. 

By Opisska, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Diademed Plover breeds in the puna zone of the Andes, not nesting very closely together; They nest from October through January, with most nesting occurring in December. Two small eggs are laid in their nests, which are made of dried grass. The chicks are mainly dark brown and fluffy. These birds don’t migrate much, but they do go back and forth between altitudes depending on the season.

Ecosystem: The Diademed Plovers live in the Puna grassland ecoregion of South America, a habitat of high elevation grasslands in the Andes mountains near the Pacific ocean. The Diademed Plover mainly lives in mossy tundra and bogs, as well as in grasslands near lakes.

Other: The Diademed Plover is considered near threatened, given that it is poorly known and seems to have a small population size (probably around 10,000 individuals). They are easily overlooked and their high altitude makes recording their population difficult, but it also means they are probably at least somewhat secure in at least part of their range.

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources under the Cut 

Jobling, J. A. 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. Christopher Helm Publishing, A&C Black Publishers Ltd, London.

Wiersma, P. & Kirwan, G.M. (2019). Diademed Plover (Phegornis mitchellii). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.