Kittlitz's Plover ( Charadrius pecuarius, family: Charadriidae)
The Kittlitz's Plover (Latin name Charadrius pecuarius) is described in
Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique
Roberts number of 248 and you will find a full description of this bird
on page 398 also a picture of the Kittlitz's Plover on page 384. The
Kittlitz's Plover belongs to the family of birds classified as
Charadriidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African
Ornithology the Kittlitz's Plover is also known by these other names:
Kittlitz's Sand Plover.
The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps
The Kittlitz's Plover is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger
National Park. It is however a common resident
In terms of distribution of the Kittlitz's Plover in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Kittlitz's Plover : see above distribution map.
Identification assistance for this avian species ...
One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The Kittlitz's Plover is a small bird about the size of a house sparrow. Do not take this relative indicator as anything other than a rough easy to remember indicator. It is not a accurate visualization. The height of the Kittlitz's Plover is about 14 cms and its weight is about 40 gms
You will find that the male Kittlitz's Plover plumage and colours are different to that of the female Kittlitz's Plover
- Head is grey.
- Eye is brown.
- Bill is black.
- Throat is white.
- Back is grey.
- Legs are black.
This bird has normally proportioned leg length.
Main diet items for this bird ...
The Kittlitz's Plover feeds on the ground mainly
Invertebrates
Aquatic life forms
Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...
The Kittlitz's Plover is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Charadrius pecuarius will seek out a new mate
The nesting habit of Kittlitz's Plover is to create the nest on the ground. The bird lays eggs which are cream in colour and number between 1 to 3
Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...
The preferred habitats for Kittlitz's Plover are: grasslands
You will normally see the Kittlitz's Plover in flocks.
Names of this avian species in other languages ...
Xhosa ... Unknown
Zulu ... Unknown
Afrikaans ...Geelborsstrandkiewiet
German ... Hirtenregenpfeifer
Portuguese ... Borrelho-do-gado
French ... Pluvier ptre
Dutch ... Herdersplevier
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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...
Robert's 7th edition number ... 248
The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za
