The biology and systematic relationships of Crowned, Blackwinged and Lesser Blackwinged Plovers.
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Date
1987
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Abstract
Plovers was compared with particular reference to breeding
biology, feeding ecology and habitat preference. Crowned and
Blackwinged Plovers coexisted in mixed flocks in grasslands which
aided predator detect ion and defence against predators. Lesser
Blackwinged Plovers were opportunistic in their use of habitat
and were found in habitats ranging from the muddy edges of pans
to woodlands. Body size was found to have an important effect on
the breeding biology of these birds, affecting incubation
behaviour and reproductive pattern. The behaviour of Lesser
Blackwinged Plovers differed considerably from that of Crowned
and Blackwinged Plovers. Crowned and Blackwinged Plovers appear
to constitute a superspecies on account of their behavioural and
morphological similarities while the Lesser Blackwinged Plover is
possibly closely related to the ancestral stock of the genus
Vanellus.
Description
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg.
Keywords
Plovers., Charadriiformes., Theses--Zoology.