Black-fronted Dotterel
Thinornis melanops
This species self-colonized New Zealand from Australia in the 1950s, successfully establishing breeding populations without human assistance.
- Scientific name
- Thinornis melanops
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Charadriiformes › Charadriidae › Thinornis
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- increasing
- Biome
- wetland
- Habitat
- Freshwater wetlands, riverbeds, farm dams, lakes, and temporary inland claypans.
- Diet
- Small aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, including insects, larvae, crustaceans, and occasionally seeds.
- Range
- Australia, New Zealand
- Size
- 16-18 cm in length, weighing 30-35 grams
- Lifespan
- 5 to 8 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Predation by feral cats and foxes, trampling of nests by livestock, and disturbance of nesting beaches by off-road vehicles.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. Observe these small birds from a distance, especially on gravelly shorelines where their highly camouflaged eggs are laid directly on the ground. If the bird begins running with a drooping wing, it is performing a distraction display; step back immediately to avoid stepping on its nest.
The black-fronted dotterel ( Charadrius melanops ) is a small plover in the family Charadriidae that is found throughout much of Australia and New Zealand.
Photo: Thomas Jaeger, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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