New Zealand Plover

The New Zealand Dotterel or Red Breasted Dotterel usually breeds among sand dunes, sand pits on the coast, and pebbly beaches around New Zealand. The nest is a bare depression often beside a tuft of vegetation. A normal clutch is three olive eggs with black and dark brown blotches. If the clutch is lost, the birds quickly make a new nest and lay again. Peak laying is October and November with incubation lasting 28 to 32 days. Chicks leave the nest as soon as they are dry. The adults guard but do not feed the young. The fledgling period is 29 to 51 days; the reasons for this are unknown. It feeds on molluscs, small crustaceans, crickets, moths, other insects and short pasture. Feature: red breasted.