Hooded Plover
Thinornis cucullatus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderCharadriiformes (Shorebirds and Allies)
- FamilyCharadriidae (Plovers and Lapwings)
- GenusThinornis (Southern Ringed Plovers and Allies)
- SpeciesThinornis cucullatus (Hooded Plover)
About the Hooded Plover
The hooded plover or hooded dotterel (Thinornis cucullatus) is a species of bird in the family Charadriidae. It is endemic to southern Australia, where it inhabits ocean beaches and subcoastal lagoons. The hooded plover was formally described in 1818 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot under the current binomial name Charadrius cucullatus. The binomial name Charadrius cucullatus was at one time treated as a junior synonym of Charadrius rubricollis Gmelin, 1789, but in 1998 the American ornithologist Storrs L. Olson designated a lectotype for C. rubricollis and made it a junior synonym of Tringa lobata Linnaeus, 1758, now the red-necked phalarope Phalaropus lobatus. In the early 2000s the hooded plover was moved from the original genus Charadrius to the genus Thinornis, along with the shore plover. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2015 found Thinornis was sister to the genus Charadrius. This was confirmed by another study published in 2022. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
The hooded plover is medium in size for a plover, stocky, and pale in colour. Its length is 190 to 230 mm (7.5–9.1 in) and its wing... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Flinders Chase
Masked Lapwing
Vanellus miles
Banded Lapwing
Vanellus tricolor
Red-kneed Dotterel
Erythrogonys cinctus
Pacific Gull
Larus pacificus
Silver Gull
Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae
Sooty Oystercatcher
Haematopus fuliginosus
Crested Tern
Thalasseus bergii
Curlew Sandpiper
Calidris ferruginea
Latham's Snipe
Gallinago hardwickii
Painted Buttonquail
Turnix varius
Dominican Gull
Larus dominicanus
Caspian Tern
Hydroprogne caspia
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maria Island National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Booderee National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Freycinet National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Flinders Chase | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Hooded Plover in Flinders Chase?
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Hooded Plover sighting in Flinders Chase, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Hooded Plover in Flinders Chase?
May has the highest sighting rate for Hooded Plover in Flinders Chase in our monthly data.