The
Kentish plover has a black beak and grayish-black legs, and
the area around its forehead and supercilium is white. It also
has a narrow and incomplete breast band that breaks off around
the front of its neck. In the summer, males have black foreheads,
chestnut brown crowns, and black eye patches, while females
have grayish-brown crowns, eye patches, and neck ring patches.
In the wintertime, the plumage on males changes, becoming similar
to that of the females during summer. In flight, the Kentish
plover's white wing stripes can be clearly seen.
Behavior:
Kentish
plovers are often seen in small groups mingling with other birds
from the Ciconiidae family. They feed by quickly moving and
pecking at small creatures living in mudflats. To avoid enemies,
they build their shallow, camouflaged, dish-shaped nests on
open ground containing scattered pebbles and plants, on drained
riverbeds, or on piles of gravel. Females usually lay a clutch
of three eggs, which are gray in color with brown spots and
also perfectly camouflaged with their surroundings. Kentish
plovers usually appear on mudflats near river outlets, shoals,
swamps, and fish farms, as well as in wet rice paddies.
Habitat:
Kentish
plovers are common residents of Taiwan, and though they can
be seen on the island all year around, their population increases
a lot during the winter. They prefer living in marshlands, shoals,
and fish farms located near seashores, but have also been reported
in areas that are several dozen kilometers away from the coast.
