White-faced Plover
Click image to enlarge © Credits: Pary Sivaraman & Dave Bakewell
SCIENTIFIC NAME
Anarhynchus dealbatus
MALAY NAME
Rapang Pantai Cina
CONSERVATION STATUS
DD
Status
Scarce migrant and winter visitor, favouring coastal sandy beaches but may occur on mudflats.
Identification
Ad B ♂︎: Usually has strikingly white lores, and bright orange crown, short black lateral breast patches, spot on rear ear coverts and band across forecrown. Ad B♀︎: Lacks black areas of male. Some develop orange tones to crown, ear coverts and breast patches. Nb/Imm: Pale brown above.
Similar Species
Similar to Kentish Plover, but heavier-billed and paler above, with shorter lateral breast patches, broader white nuchal collar; lores and lower ear coverts mostly white. In fresh plumage (Oct – Feb), wing coverts fringed whitish. In worn plumage (Apr – Aug), pale feather edges are lost. In flight, paler than Kentish Plover, with broader wing-bars. Larger than Malaysian Plover, with more elongated body. May show similar mottled pale brown upperparts, but breast patches are much shorter.
Typical behaviour
As Kentish Plover.
Vocalizations
No details from wintering area.
Range
Most records are from Peninsular Malaysia (west coast, Singapore Strait and east coast as far north as Kuala Rompin (Pahang). Only a handful of records from Bornean Malaysia but possibly overlooked.
Seasonality
Most frequently seen between September and April.
