White-fronted Plover (Anarhynchus marginatus)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

White-fronted Plover

Anarhynchus marginatus (Vieillot, 1818)

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.

Busiest months: November · Most records: South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique

Least Concern

Where and when it's recorded

White-fronted Plover has been recorded at 164 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 29 countries and regions.

Records by month Southern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. West Coast NPSouth Africa659 records
  2. St Lucia – iMfolozi River mouthSouth Africa567 records
  3. Walvis Bay Salt PansNamibia562 records
More places
  1. West Coast NP – Seeberg hideSouth Africa543 records
  2. Walvis Bay – Lagoon PromenadeNamibia503 records
  3. Sabaki River EstuaryKenya326 records
  4. Swakopmund Salt WorksNamibia303 records
  5. Nosy VeMadagascar278 records
  6. West Coast NP – Geelbek hides vicinitySouth Africa180 records
  7. Swakop River MouthNamibia172 records

Countries and regions with the most records

South AfricaNamibiaMozambiqueKenyaMadagascarGambiaZambiaBotswana

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

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.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

Where does the White-fronted Plover live?

Its breeding range: Africa: widespread coastal and inland Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. It is most often recorded in South Africa, Namibia and Mozambique.

When is the best time to see the White-fronted Plover?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in November (Southern Hemisphere).

Is the White-fronted Plover endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the White-fronted Plover as Least Concern.

What family is the White-fronted Plover in?

It belongs to the family Plovers (Charadriidae), order Charadriiformes.

At a glance

Conservation
Least Concern

Range

Africa: widespread coastal and inland Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Family
Plovers Charadriidae
Genus
Anarhynchus

Other birds in the genus Anarhynchus

Caspian PloverCaspian PloverAnarhynchus asiaticusOriental PloverOriental PloverAnarhynchus veredusTibetan Sand PloverTibetan Sand PloverAnarhynchus atrifronsSiberian Sand PloverSiberian Sand PloverAnarhynchus mongolusGreater Sand PloverGreater Sand PloverAnarhynchus leschenaultiiDouble-banded PloverDouble-banded PloverAnarhynchus bicinctusWrybillWrybillAnarhynchus frontalisNew Zealand PloverNew Zealand PloverAnarhynchus obscurusWilson's PloverWilson's PloverAnarhynchus wilsoniaCollared PloverCollared PloverAnarhynchus collarisMountain PloverMountain PloverAnarhynchus montanusPuna PloverPuna PloverAnarhynchus alticola
White-fronted Plover

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by simben. ↗

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