Anarhynchus atrifrons
The Tibetan Sand Plover (Anarhynchus atrifrons) is a medium-small shorebird of the family Charadriidae, renowned for its striking breeding plumage and high-altitude breeding habitats. Males in breeding season exhibit a bold black facial mask extending from the bill to behind the eye, bordered above by a stark white supercilium and below by a white throat, contrasting sharply with a broad, rich chestnut breast band. Their upperparts are sandy grey-brown, while the belly is pure white. Females ...
Breeds on barren, high-altitude steppes, semi-deserts, and saline lake shores; winters on coastal mudflats, sandy beaches, and estuaries, ranging from sea level to over 5,000 meters elevation.
Primarily consumes invertebrates, including insects (beetles, flies, larvae), crustaceans, and marine worms, gleaned from the surface of soft substrates.
The Tibetan Sand Plover exhibits typical plover behavior, being primarily diurnal in its activities. During the breeding season, individuals are often seen singly or in pairs, becoming more solitary. Foraging is conducted on open ground using the characteristic 'run-stop-peck' method, where the b...
The Tibetan Sand Plover has a breeding range concentrated on the high-altitude plateaus of Central Asia, including the Tibetan Plateau, Himalayas, and regions of Ladakh (India), Nepal, Bhutan, China (Qinghai, Xinjiang, Gansu, Inner Mongolia), and Mongolia, typically above 3,000 meters. Following ...
Data Deficient
- The Tibetan Sand Plover breeds at astonishing elevations, sometimes exceeding 5,000 meters (over 16,000 feet) in the Himalayas and on the Tibetan Plateau, making it one of the highest-altitude breeding shorebirds globally. - Despite its high-altitude breeding, it undertakes epic migrations, tra...