26-596: The bird family Charadriidae includes the plovers , dotterels , and lapwings . The family contains 69 species that are divided into 10 genera . The family Charadriidae was introduced (as Charadriadæ) by the English zoologist William Elford Leach in a guide to the contents of the British Museum published in 1820. Most members of the family are known as plovers , lapwings or dotterels . These were rather vague terms which were not applied with any great consistency in
52-465: A paraphyletic assemblage. However, it indicated that the plains wanderer actually belonged into one of them. Following recent studies (Ericson et al., 2003; Paton et al., 2003; Thomas et al., 2004a, b; van Tuinen et al., 2004; Paton & Baker, 2006), the waders may be more accurately subdivided as follows, with Charadrii being repurposed into a monophyletic suborder of plovers, oystercatchers, and their close relatives. The waders are traditionally
78-438: A day. Charadriidae are protective over their eggs and offspring. The parents protect their young by uttering an alarm call, performing distraction display and they may even attack the predator or intruder. The chicks are precocial; their parents do not feed them. Plover see the table Plovers ( / ˈ p l ʌ v ər / PLUV -ər , also US : / ˈ p l oʊ v ər / PLOH -vər ) are members of
104-562: A greatly enlarged order Ciconiiformes . However, the classification of the Charadriiformes is one of the weakest points of the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, as DNA–DNA hybridization has turned out to be incapable of properly resolving the interrelationships of the group. Formerly, the waders were united in a single suborder Charadrii , but this has turned out to be a " wastebasket taxon ", uniting no fewer than four charadriiform lineages in
130-530: A group of two Charadriiform suborders which include 13 families . Species in the third Charadriiform suborder, Lari , are not universally considered as waders, though the Larine families which may variously be included are listed below as well. Shorebirds is a blanket term used to refer to multiple bird species that live in wet, coastal environments. Because most these species spend much of their time near bodies of water, many have long legs suitable for wading (hence
156-403: A result, an increase in dimorphism. Bigger males tend to have greater access (and appeal) to female mates because their larger size aids them in defeating other competitors. Likewise, if the species exhibits gender role reversal (where males take on roles traditionally done by females such as childcare and feeding), then males will select female mates based on traits that are the most appealing. In
182-586: A run-and-pause technique, rather than the steady probing of some other wader groups. They also feed on plant material. The vast majority of Charadriidae have a socially monogamous mating system. Some, such as Northern lapwings , are polygynous , others, such as mountain plovers have a rapid multiple-clutch system that can be accompanied by sequential polyandry. In Eurasian dotterels , females compete for males and males provide all parental care . While breeding, they defend their territories with highly visible aerial displays. Charadridae lay two to four eggs into
208-443: A single female partner, males typically do not have distinctive dimorphic characteristics such as colored feathers, but they still tend to be larger in size compared to females. The suborder Charadrii displays the widest range of sexual dimorphisms seen in the order Charadriiformes. However, cases of sexual monomorphism, where there are no distinguishing physical features besides external genitalia, are also seen in this order. One of
234-511: A type of distraction display . Examples include pretending to change position or to sit on an imaginary nest site. The European golden plover spends summers in Iceland , and in Icelandic folklore , the appearance of the first plover in the country means that spring has arrived. The Icelandic media always covers the first plover sighting. Wader Waders or shorebirds are birds of
260-406: A widely distributed group of wading birds of family Charadriidae . The term "plover" applies to all the members of the family, though only about half of them include it in their name. The taxonomy of family Charadriidae is unsettled. At various times the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings of family Charadriidae have been distributed among several subfamilies, with Charadriinae including most of
286-571: Is the least sandpiper , small adults of which can weigh as little as 15.5 grams (0.55 oz) and measure just over 13 centimetres (5 inches). The largest species is believed to be the Far Eastern curlew , at about 63 cm (25 in) and 860 grams (1 pound 14 ounces), although the beach thick-knee is the heaviest at about 1 kg (2 lb 3 oz). In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy , waders and many other groups are subsumed into
SECTION 10
#1733104760975312-462: The Jacana species, females compete with each other for access to male mates, so females are larger in size. Males choose female mates based on who presents herself as the strongest and who 'owns' the most territory. Another factor that leads to the development of dimorphisms in species is natural selection . Natural selection focuses on traits and the environment's response to the traits in question; if
338-471: The inland dotterel , for example, prefers stony ground in the deserts of central and western Australia, and the killdeer is often found in grasslands in North America. They hunt by sight, rather than by feel as longer-billed waders like snipe do. Foods eaten include aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates such as insects, worms, molluscs and crustaceans depending on habitat, and are usually obtained by
364-481: The Arctic species, such as the little stint , are amongst the longest distance migrants, spending the non- breeding season in the southern hemisphere . Many of the smaller species found in coastal habitats, particularly but not exclusively the calidrids , are often named as "sandpipers", but this term does not have a strict meaning, since the upland sandpiper is a grassland species. The smallest member of this group
390-489: The biggest factors that leads to the development of sexual dimorphism in shorebirds is sexual selection . Males with ideal characteristics favored by females are more likely to reproduce and pass on their genetic information to their offspring better than the males who lack such characteristics. Mentioned earlier, male shorebirds are typically larger in size compared to their female counterparts. Competition between males tends to lead to sexual selection toward larger males and as
416-421: The exception of the killdeer . In most genera, the sexes are similar, very little sexual dimorphism occurs between sexes. They range in size from the collared plover , at 26 grams and 14 cm (5.5 in), to the masked lapwing , at 368 grams (0.811 pounds) and 35 cm (14 in). They are distributed through open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water, although there are some exceptions:
442-448: The four members of genus Pluvialis as subfamily Pluvialinae. The IOC recognizes these 69 species of plovers, dotterels, and lapwings in family Charadriidae. They are distributed among 11 genera, some of which have only one species. This list is presented according to the IOC taxonomic sequence and can also be sorted alphabetically by common name and binomial. Plovers are found throughout
468-477: The name 'Waders'). Some species prefer locations with rocks or mud. Many shorebirds display migratory patterns and often migrate before breeding season. These behaviors explain the long wing lengths observed in species, and can also account for the efficient metabolisms that give the birds energy during long migrations . The majority of species eat small invertebrates picked out of mud or exposed soil. Different lengths of bills enable different species to feed in
494-439: The nest, which is usually a shallow scrape in the open ground, and incubate the clutch for 21–30 days. In species where both parents incubate the eggs, females and males vary in the way they share their incubation duties, both within and between species. In some pairs, parents exchange on the nest in the morning and in the evening so that their incubation rhythm follows 24-hour day, in others females and males exchange up to 20 times
520-725: The order Charadriiformes commonly found wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to forage for food crawling or burrowing in the mud and sand, usually small arthropods such as aquatic insects or crustaceans . The term "wader" is used in Europe, while "shorebird" is used in North America, where "wader" may be used instead to refer to long-legged wading birds such as storks and herons . There are about 210 species of wader, most of which live in wetland or coastal environments. Many species of Arctic and temperate regions are strongly migratory , but tropical birds are often resident, or move only in response to rainfall patterns. Some of
546-487: The past. In general, larger species have often been called lapwings , smaller species plovers or dotterels and there are in fact two clear taxonomic sub-groups: most lapwings belong to the subfamily Vanellinae , most plovers and dotterels to Charadriinae . The trend in recent years has been to rationalise the common names of the Charadriidae. For example, the large and very common Australian bird traditionally known as
SECTION 20
#1733104760975572-435: The said trait increases the overall fitness of the individual possessing it, then it will be 'selected' and eventually become a permanent part of the population's gene pool. For example, depending on the food available in a shorebird specie's respective niche , bigger bill sizes may be favored in all individuals. This would essentially lead to monomorphism within the species but is subject to change once sexual selection acts on
598-818: The same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food. Many waders have sensitive nerve endings at the end of their bills which enable them to detect prey items hidden in mud or soft soil. Some larger species, particularly those adapted to drier habitats will take larger prey including insects and small reptiles . Shorebirds, like many other animals, exhibit phenotypic differences between males and females, also known as sexual dimorphism . In shorebirds, various sexual dimorphisms are seen, including, but not limited to, size (e.g. body size, bill size), color, and agility. In polygynous species, where one male individual mates with multiple female partners over his lifetime, dimorphisms tend to be more diverse. In monogamous species, where male individuals mate with
624-721: The species. The International Ornithological Congress (IOC) and the Clements taxonomy do not assign species to subfamilies. The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (AOS) includes all of the species in Charadriinae. The North American Classification Committee of the AOS and BirdLife International 's Handbook of the Birds of the World separate
650-477: The world, with the exception of the Sahara and the polar regions , and are characterised by relatively short bills. They hunt by sight, rather than by feel as longer-billed waders like snipes do. They feed mainly on insects, worms or other invertebrates, depending on the habitat, which are obtained by a run-and-pause technique, rather than the steady probing of some other wader groups. Plovers engage in false brooding,
676-494: The ‘spur-winged plover’, is now the masked lapwing ; the former ‘sociable plover’ is now the sociable lapwing . They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings, but most species of lapwing may have more rounded wings. Their bill are usually straight (except for the wrybill ) and short, their toes are short, hind toe could be reduced or absent, depending on species. Most Charadriidae also have relatively short tails, with
#974025