Double-banded Plover

1. Subtle grey-brown streaks on the breast and a buff face with pale hindcollar in non-breeding plumage

2. Compact, rounded build with short legs and a slender black bill

3. Breeding plumage (rare in Australia) shows two bold chest bands: one black, one chestnut

This plover feeds on small invertebrates such as crustaceans, marine worms, mollusks, and insects, using a typical plover foraging style-running, pausing, and picking prey from the surface. They forage both day and night and may defend feeding territories or join loose flocks. Breeding occurs in New Zealand, mainly on South Island’s braided rivers and gravel beds, with both parents sharing incubation duties. Birds breeding at higher elevations or inland migrate to Australia for the non-breeding season, while coastal breeders tend to remain in New Zealand.

Double-banded Plovers are most often found along the southern and eastern coasts of Australia, including Tasmania, from March to August. They frequent a wide range of habitats: sandy and rocky beaches, estuaries, mudflats, saltmarshes, and sometimes inland wetlands, grasslands, and even farm paddocks. They are most active at dawn and dusk, feeding along the tideline or on exposed mudflats, and often roost in small groups on sandspits or rocky headlands at high tide.