Egyptian Plover

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iEgyptian Plover

Egyptian Plover at the Milwaukee County Zoological Gardens

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Glareolidae
Subfamily:	Pluvianinae
Genus:	Pluvianus
Species:	P. aegyptius

Binomial name

Pluvianus aegyptius
(Linnaeus, 1758)

The Egyptian Plover, Pluvianus aegyptius, is a wader, the only member of the genus Pluvianus (Vieillot, 1816). Formerly placed in its own monotypic family Pluvianidae, it is now regarded as the sole member of the subfamily Pluvianinae, part of the pratincole and courser family, Glareolidae.

It is also sometimes referred to as the Crocodile Bird because it is famous for a symbiotic relationship with crocodiles. According to a story dating to Herodotus, the crocodiles lie on the shore with their mouths open, and the plovers fly into the crocodiles' mouths so as to feed on bits of decaying meat that are lodged between the crocodiles' teeth. The crocodiles do not eat the plovers, as the plovers are providing the crocodiles with greatly-needed dentistry. Two eminent ornithologists have supported this story anecdotally, but the behavior has never been authenticated (Richford and Mead 2003).

Egyptian Plover is a localised resident in tropical sub-Saharan Africa. It breeds on sandbars in large rivers. Its two or three eggs are not incubated, but are buried in warm sand, temperature control being achieved by the adult sitting on the eggs with a water-soaked belly to cool them. If the adult leaves the nest, it smooths sand over the eggs, though if it is frightened the job may be hasty. The chicks are precocial, and can run as soon as they are hatched and feed themselves shortly afterward. Adults' behaviors in regard to them resemble their behaviors with eggs: they cool the chicks in the same way, and the chicks may drink water from their belly feathers. Also, the adults bury the chicks in the sand temporarily if danger threatens.

Egyptian Plover is a striking and unmistakable species. The 19-21 cm long adult has a black crown, back, eye-mask and breast band. The rest of the head is white. The remaining upperpart plumage is blue-grey, and the underparts are orange. The longish legs are blue-grey.

In flight, it is even more spectacular, with the black crown and back contrasting with the grey of the upperparts and wings. The flight feathers are brilliant white crossed by a black bar. From below, the flying bird is entirely white, apart from the orange belly and black wing bar. After landing, members of a pair greet each other by raising their wings in an elaborate ceremony that shows off the black and white markings. The sexes are similar, but juveniles are duller and the black marking are intermixed with brown.

This usually very tame bird is found in pairs or small groups near water. It feeds by pecking for insects, and by extracting fragments of meat from between crocodile teeth. The call is a high-pitched krrr-krrr-krrr.

[edit] References

BirdLife International (2004). Pluvianus aegyptius. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

Shorebirds by Hayman, Marchant and Prater ISBN 0-7099-2034-2
Richford, Andrew S., and Christopher J. Mead (2003). “Pratincoles and Coursers”, in Christopher Perrins (Ed.): Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds. Firefly Books, 252–253. ISBN 1-55297-777-3.