138 Kentish Plover
(Charadrius alexandrinus)
Identification
15-17cm. The Kentish Plover is slightly smaller, longer-legged and thinner-billed than Ringed Plover, with short ‘stern’ and flat-crowned, broad, large head. Paler than Ringed. In all plumages has small dark breast-side patches rather than complete or centrally broken breast-band; bill black; legs blackish (or sometimes paler grey-brown); in flight, shows prominent wing-bar and all-white tail-sides. Adult: male has neat black markings on head and breast-sides, and crown and nape with variable amount of rusty colour; pattern and colour less well marked in winter. female has grey-brown (not black) markings on head and breast (rarely, may have complete brown breast-band), and no or very little rust on crown.
Description
In Hungary the Kentish Plover is a very localised and rare breeder with a population that has been continuosly decreasing for decades. Nowadays it breeds breeds in very small numbers only in the Kiskunság, in the southern Great Plain (Sándorfalva, Pusztaszer, Kardoskút) and near Lake Fertő in Transdanubia. Its most preferred breeding habitat is near alkali lakes. Occasionally breeds on drained fishponds and near borrow pits. Migrant. In spring it arrives in March and leaves in September but some individuals linger in October. On passage it is primarily seen with other plovers on drained fishponds.
Can be found in the following IBAs
07 BA)
.jpg "138 Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus )")
Source: 1) Lovászi Péter (editor): Javasolt különleges madárvédelmi területek Magyarországon, Magyar Madártani és Természetvédelmi Egyesület, 2002; 2) BirdLife International:IUCN Red List for birds. Species factsheet; 3) Králl Attila, Nagy Károly: Fontos Madárélőhelyek Magyarországon (Területek, kritériumok és minősítő fajok) MME Monitoring Központ, 2007; 4) Szabolcs Kókay bird illustrations; 5) www.hungarianbirdwatching.com bird descriptions and checklists, 2004-2012; 6) Lars Svensson et al.: Collins Bird Guide: The Most Complete Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe 2nd Edition, Harper Collins, 2010; 7) MME Nomenclator Bizottság: Nomenclator avium Hungariae. An annotated list of the birds of Hungary. Magyar Madártani és Természetvédelmi Egyesület, 2008