SPECIES: Thinornis cucullatus cucullatus — Hooded Plover (eastern), Eastern Hooded Plover
CLASSIFICATION: Vulnerable
While many of us are out and about enjoying the beach over summer, be sure to look out for this bird in an area known for nesting sites. It’s the Hooded Plover, a medium-sized shorebird endemic to southern Australia and Tasmania.
The Hooded Plover is recognisable by its black ‘hood’, as the name suggests. It has a white collar on its throat, a red bill with a black tip, red eye rings and orange legs. The Hooded Plover’s habitat are sandy beaches and subcoastal lagoons and often they are found on beaches with seaweed and dunes. They can often be seen foraging in sand near the water’s edge for food.
The Hooded Plover is largely under threat of habitat loss. Human activity, dogs, cats and predation by foxes have also taken their toll on the species. Estimates of the population remaining could be as few as 7,000.
Photo: By Benjamint444 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28...