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The white-fronted plover or white-fronted sandplover (Anarhynchus marginatus) is a small (45-50 g) shorebird of the family Charadriidae that inhabits sandy beaches, dunes, mudflats and the shores of rivers and lakes in sub-saharan Africa and Madagascar. It nests in small shallow scrapes in the ground and lays clutches of one to three eggs. The species is monogamous and long-lived, with a life expectancy of approximately 12 years. The vast majority of pairs that mate together stay together during the following years of breeding and retain the same territory. The white-fronted plover has a similar appearance to the Kentish plover, with a white fore crown and dark bands connecting the eyes to the bill.
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Subspecies
Four or five subspecies are recognized, which vary in the colour shade of the neck collar and breast:
A. m. arenaceus (Clancey, 1971) occurs from southern Mozambique to the south-western Cape Province in South Africa.
A. m. marginatus (Vieillot, 1818), the nominate subspecies, occurs from southern Angola to the south-western Cape Province.
A. m. mechowi (Cabanis, 1884) occurs locally in Africa south of the Sahara to northern Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe and northern Mozambique.
A. m. tenellus (Hartlaub, 1861) is endemic to Madagascar.
A. m. pons is a subspecies that is not currently accepted by all authorities.
Description
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The average white-fronted plover weighs approximately 45-50 g, and the two sexes differ slightly in plumage coloration. Adult male plovers show a white forecrown and supercilium, with a dark band crossing the mid crown, with the rest of the crown a sandy grey colour. The face is mainly white, with a blackish brown stripe running from behind the eye to the ear coverts. The mantle, back, and rump is light greyish brown, with pale brown to grey fringing feathers. The upper covert and central feathers of the tail are black, and the lateral feathers are white. Primaries and secondaries are dark brown with white shafts, bases, and inner webs. White-fronted plovers also have a pale dusky-brown lateral patch on the upper breast, and white underparts, occasionally with a washed chestnut lower breast and upper belly. The eyes are brown, the bill is black, and the legs are pale grey, green-grey, or pale green/olive. Adult females have a similar appearance to adult males, however the black crown band is less defined and not as thick, and may even be absent in some cases. Additionally, the wing of the females is slightly longer than that of the males. Juveniles have similar markings to adult females, but always lack the crown band altogether, and there is no black colouration on the head- lores are brown. The lateral breast patch is very variable between individuals of this species.
