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Red-kneed Dotterel (Erythrogonys cinctus), Alice Springs Sewage Ponds

Red-kneed Dotterel

WadersWaders Index Bar-tailed Godwit Banded Lapwing Black-fronted Dotterel Black-tailed Godwit Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) Hooded Plover Inland Dotterel Lesser Sand Plover Long-toed Stint Oriental Plover Pacific Golden Plover Pectoral Sandpiper Pied Stilt Red-kneed Dotterel Red-necked Avocet Red-necked Stint Ruff Sanderling Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Sooty Oystercatcher

The Red-kneed Dotterel (Erythrogonys cinctus) is a wading bird that can often be found in freshwater wetlands and even sewage pond areas, where it often occurs in small flocks.

Despite the name of Red-kneed Dotterel, this plover does not have red knees, instead the upper part of the legs are pinkish in colour.

Red-kneed Dotterel (Erythrogonys cinctus), Alice Springs Sewage Ponds © Dorothy Latimer
Red-kneed Dotterel (Erythrogonys cinctus), Alice Springs Sewage Ponds © Dorothy Latimer
Red-kneed Dotterel (Erythrogonys cinctus), Alice Springs Sewage Ponds © Dorothy Latimer
Red-kneed Dotterel (Erythrogonys cinctus), Alice Springs Sewage Ponds © Dorothy Latimer

The adult bird has a solid black hood and white chin with a black breast-band and chestnut flank patch. The juvenile is gray with white underparts lacking the black or red.

Red-kneed Dotterel (Erythrogonys cinctus), Alice Springs Sewage Ponds © Dorothy Latimer
Red-kneed Dotterel (Erythrogonys cinctus), Alice Springs Sewage Ponds © Dorothy Latimer

  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Subphylum: Vertebrata
  • Informal: Gnathostomata
  • Class: Aves
  • Order: Charadriiformes
  • Family: Charadriidae
  • Subfamily: Vanellinae
  • Genus: Erythrogonys
  • Species: Erythrogonys cinctus

Footnote & References

  1. Erythrogonys cinctus Gould, 1838, Red-Kneed Dotterel, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/Erythrogonys cinctus
  2. Red-kneed Dotterel (Erythrogonys cinctus), eBird, https://ebird.org/species/rekdot1

WadersWaders Index Bar-tailed Godwit Banded Lapwing Black-fronted Dotterel Black-tailed Godwit Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) Hooded Plover Inland Dotterel Lesser Sand Plover Long-toed Stint Oriental Plover Pacific Golden Plover Pectoral Sandpiper Pied Stilt Red-kneed Dotterel Red-necked Avocet Red-necked Stint Ruff Sanderling Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Sooty Oystercatcher

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