The first Three-banded Plover Charadritis tricollaris in Egypt and the Western Palearctic
| DAVIDSON & KIRWAN (1998) noted that a second Three-Banded Plover Charadrius tricollaris had been recorded in Egypt and the Western Palearctic, at Aswan on 14 December 1997, but the first, in March 1993, had never been formally described. Given the importance of documenting first records and having seen the 1993 bird, the following observations based on my field notes, sketches and photographs serve as a formal report of the bird's occurrence. On 5-26 March 1993, a Three-banded Plover was at Gebel Asfar, Cairo. It was first discovered by Mashuq Ahmad and Martin Elliott. I visited the area on 19 March 1993 when I sketched and photographed the bird for c. 30 minutes in the company of Dr Derek Russell, who concurred with the identification. I have experience of Three-banded Plover in Tanzania, Namibia and South Africa. On the morning of 19 March, we arrived Gebel Asfar and headed for a shallow freshwater pond surrounded on three sides by Phragmites. The fourth side included open areas of exposed silt where we noted several species of wader. At 09.15, the Three-banded Plover, flew in to join a Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius, permitting close comparison of the two. Throughout the observation the bird fed on the silt bed. The following details were noted. |
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Description |
Typical Charadrius plover but much more boldly marked and darker above than accompanying, smaller and 'stubbier' Little Ringed Plover. Upperparts uniform dark grey/brown with no apparent scalloping. Underparts white with two very distinct black bands across the lower and upper breast. Lower black band significantly broader than the upper black band. Facial region to upper breast band greyish. White supercillium extended above eye and around back of head forming a complete white ring. Crown concolorous with upperparts. Forehead white, continuous with supercilium. Bill strikingly red with black tip. Red orbital ring very distinctive even at c. 40 metres. Legs pinkish. Apart from when the bird first arrived, when details of the. wing and tail pattern went unnoted, the bird was not seen in flight. |
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Discussion |
The distinctive patterning of the breast, facial region and crown, and bare-parts coloration precluded confusion with any Charadrius plover previously recorded in the region (Heinzel et al. 1995). The only possible confusion species is Forbes's Plover Charadrius forbesi of West and Central Africa, with which it forms a superspecies (Hockey & Douie 1995). This species lacks the clear white forehead of Three-banded Plover, and has less red on the bill. The striking head pattern of the Gebel Asfar bird, white as opposed to buffish forehead and lack of scalloping on the upperparts suggested it was adult. The entirely white forehead and pale facial region indicated that it was of the nominate race and not the Malagasy bifrontatus (Hayman et al. 1986). Hockey & Douie (1995) recognize a third subspecies, pelodromus, in the north and east of the species' range based on its browner mantle and broader lower breast band, but this taxon is apparently considered unacceptable by del Hoyo et al. (1996). It is impossible to subspecifically identify the Gebel Asfar bird from the author's photographs, although given its range bifrontatus would appear the most likely race to occur in Egypt. From the photograph (Plate 1) and that published in Birding World (6:100), it does not appear possible to safely identify the bird to subspecies.
Three-banded Plover is usually considered sedentary throughout its extensive range in East, Central and southern Africa (Hayman et al. 1986), but there is some evidence of local movements in response to rainfall (Rosair & Cottridge 1995). Indeed, Hockey & Douie (1995) state that records to the north and west of its usual range 'could be considered migration' and go on to state that ringing studies have demonstrated movements of at least 260 km and 'probably much greater'; del Hoyo et al. (1996) state that non-breeders appear in Cameroon and Nigeria during the dry season (August - February) and that, in Ethiopia, the species is only present in March-April and July-December. Nikolaus (1987) notes the species' occurrence, on Sudan's Red Sea coast, to within 300 km of the border with Egypt. Given this, and the fact that the species is apparently unknown in captivity in Egypt, it appears safe to regard the Gebel Asfar bird as the first wild Three-banded Plover in Egypt and the Western Palearctic. This is supported by the subsequent record of the species at Aswan. Hei nzel et al. (1995) make reference to a Three-banded Plover record in Israel but it is believed that this is in error and the record referred to is the Gebel Asfar bird.
The Gebel Asfar Three-bandcd Plover was first brought to the atthor's attention by Sherif and Mindy Baha El Din. However, the ultimate credit for this record must go to Mashuq Ahmad and Martin Elliot who first discovered the bird and alerted Derek Evans and the Egyptian ornithological community to its presence. |
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References |
DEL HOYO, J., ELLIOT, A. AND SARGATAL, J. (EDS) (1994) Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 4. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Richard Hoath, c/o The American University in Cairo, 113 Kasr El Aini, Cairo, Egypt. |
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