Kentish Plover

Charadrius alexandrinus (Linnaeus, 1758)

		male female
2021-04-11 Balykchy bay Issyk-Kul. 2019-08-30 Issyk-kul region	© Irina Romanovskaia © Tatiana Menshikova

Biology

Common breeding migrant. Inhabits usually the sandy and muddy shores of salty lakes, but sometimes also the saline soil areas next to the fresh water. On migration occurs in addtion to the said landscapes also on ponds and near artesian wells. In spring arrives by pairs or in small groups in the end of March or in April. Migration finishes up to early June. Breeds in separate pairs sometimes at 50-70 m one from another, often together with terns, pratincoles, stilts and other birds. Nest is common shallow hole in the sand or saline-soil; a few days after the laying the eggs are dipped into the sand or in the vegetation dust on 1/3 or even more. Clutch of 3-4 eggs is produced in the end of April to June. Both parents incubate and care for chicks which hatch in May to July. Probably has two broods per breeding season. In July at some places the adult birds get together for moulting to flocks of 40-50 birds. Autumn migration begins in August, this time the flocks of up to 100-150 birds are not rare. From northern areas birds fly off in the first decade of September, from southern ones in the end of September – early October.

References

Gavrilov E. I., Gavrilov A. E. "The Birds of Kazakhstan". Almaty, 2005. Э.И.Гаврилов. "Фауна и распространение птиц Казахстана". Алматы, 1999. В.К.Рябицев. "Птицы Урала, Приуралья и Западной Сибири". Екатеринбург, Изд-во Уральского университета, 2000.