Habitat: Coastal beaches, inland wetlands and mudflats
Depth: N/A
The Red-capped plover is a small shorebird that is commonly found picking through intertidal rock platforms and sandflats for small invertebrates. It has a white underside with grey-brown upper parts and a dark stripe from its eye to beak. This species gets its common name from the males, who have a reddish brown head and neck, while this is less distinctive in females, whose head and neck is usually a greyish brown. This species is extremely vulnerable to predators as it nests on relatively open ground, laying its eggs in small depressions, although its large populations means that it is not classified as threatened in SA. This species has a distinctive appearance, but at first glance can be mistaken for the larger and longer-beaked Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis).
