Talk:White-faced plover

File:Charadrius alexandrinus - Laem Pak Bia.jpg to appear as POTD soon

Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that File:Charadrius alexandrinus - Laem Pak Bia.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on January 19, 2020. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2020-01-19. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page so Wikipedia doesn't look bad. :) Thanks! Cwmhiraeth (talk) 11:17, 30 December 2019 (UTC)

Picture of the day

The white-faced plover (Charadrius alexandrinus dealbatus) is a small shorebird, usually considered to be a subspecies of the Kentish plover. With a length of about 17 cm (6.7 in), it differs from the latter in having a thicker, blunter beak, white lores, paler crown and overparts, less black on the lateral breast patches and a larger white wingbar. The bird is found in south-eastern China, Vietnam, Thailand, peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra, and is partially migratory.

Seen here on the mudflats of Laem Phak Bia in Thailand, the white-faced plover feeds on the foreshore, searching visually for prey then dashing forward to catch the animal or probe in the substrate with its beak. Its diet consists of small invertebrates such as insects and their larvae, spiders, molluscs, crustaceans and marine worms. Its breeding habits are not known.Photograph credit: John Harrison

Too soon for species?

I changed the classification to species. Birdlife International and the IUCN have recognised this change for a few years, following HBW. Both are cited in the article. The IOC (not cited) have finally acknowledged the change so this is no longer controversial. The reason I changed it now rather than waiting a few weeks for IOC 10.2 was because of how the lede was written. If it is a subspecies of the Kentish plover then the statement that it is often confused with one makes no sense. Yet this history of confusion is an important point so belongs there. As a species it all makes more sense. —  Jts1882 | talk  08:37, 23 June 2020 (UTC)

I agree, I added a short sentence about it. Oscar.garcia.miranda (talk) 13:50, 20 October 2023 (UTC)