New Zealand plover / Tuturiwhatu (Charadrius obscurus)

Tawharanui Reserve, New Zealand. 27 Dec 2016.

comments (5)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Looks like you found quite a lot of endemic species, a typical island thing I guess. Posted 8 years ago
1. Thibaud Aronson
  
  Lion
  
  Well sadly, as in most islands, a lot of endemics went extinct after the arrival of people, first the Maori (the bigger birds) and then the Europeans (just about everything else). But without making a specific effort to see some of the really restricted ones (this was a family holiday after all), I did manage to see a good number of the surviving ones. Posted 8 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    Preventable extinction upsets me so much. I recently learned about elephant birds in Madagascar and giant lemurs. Fantasy-like creatures, but they were real up to 200 years ago. That's not that long ago. Posted 8 years ago
  2. 1. Thibaud Aronson
      
      Lion
      
      Exactly! Some of New Zealand's moas were even bigger than the elephant birds, they were preyed upon by and Haast's eagle, the heaviest eagle to ever have ever lived. They're all gone now, along with over 40 other bird species... Posted 8 years ago
    2. 1. Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        Whoah! Did not know about either of those species. Large birds can be quite intimidating, I vividly remember this encounter:
        
        Not even close to the size of a moa, but I still had this primal/dinosaur feeling about it. So sad they are extinct in recent past. It is much easier to accept an extinction a million years ago compared to one just recently, entirely caused by us.
        
        Of course, no such list is complete without megalodon, despite it being very long ago:
        http://sharkopedia.discovery.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/prehistoric4-NEW3-550x350.jpg Posted 8 years ago

The New Zealand Dotterel

The New Zealand plover, red-breasted plover, or New Zealand dotterel is an endangered species found only in certain areas of New Zealand. Its Māori names include tūturiwhatu, pukunui, and kūkuruatu. There are two subspecies, "C. o. obscurus" in the South Island and "C. o. aquilonius" in the North Island. A 2015 study found its closest relatives to be other plovers found in New Zealand, the nearest the wrybill, which the study found to be in the "Charadrius" clade, and then the double-banded plover.. more

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Similar species: Shorebirds And Allies

Species identified by Thibaud Aronson