globalbirdtrekkers.org - Flickr Bird of The Week

Flickr Bird of The Week

Written by Michel Gutierrez

Thursday, 02 July 2009

I want to let people know South American species mainly due to the great biodiversity of species here...and I wanted to start with this one, because there are so few photographs of it and a pair of good pictures...

Photo by Gastón Cassus

About the pic, Gastón Cassus says:
I think we crossed the Magellan strait to go to Porvenir with the only objective to watch this tiny, beautiful and almost unique bird, and get a good shot.
We walked a lot (about 15 km) with a bones freezing wind and we were able to see only two birds, one of them at a big distance and this one, very close to us, going and coming with no problem of our presence. I think it well worth it, because the Magellanic Plover is one of the most scarce birds in the whole world, and found only in southernmost South America.

About the bird:
The Magellanic Plover, Pluvianellus socialis, is a rare and unique wader found only in southernmost South America; in the Magellan province of Chile, Falkland (Malvine) Islands, and up to Chubut in Argentina.
They live at the shores of lagoons and salt lakes, and at coastal sites in the winter, imitating the sand and little rocks, so it is very hard to see it. Actually it is not an endangered specie, but there are no more than about 1500 specimens.This species is not migratory.
The Magellanic Plover es a specie that posses particular characteristics, so there are discussion about their taxonomic location. Many authors clasificate them in a new family: Pluvianellidae.

» 8 Comments

1Comment
at Thursday, 02 July 2009 20:49by Jay

a wonderful shot, Gaston! a beautiful bird ;-)
and thank you so much for the added information on the bird, Michel, I have not seen this bird before! What a special sighting this is!

2Comment
at Thursday, 02 July 2009 20:50by Laine

Wow Michel!!! Great first Flickr bird! thank so much for introducing me to this little gem.

Thanks Gaston for allowing us the opportunity in seeing your treasured picture!

3Comment
at Thursday, 02 July 2009 21:21by Charlie

Kewl pic Gaston.... and thanks Michel for the interesting info on this bird!! I don't think I've ever seen a photo of these little chaps!

4Comment
at Thursday, 02 July 2009 21:24by Muis

Thanks for sharing this really special experience.

5Comment
at Friday, 03 July 2009 04:01by gaston

Ohhh!!!
Thank you very much for posting this one.
Sorry for my poor english, I tried my best.
Thank you again for all the comments.

6Comment
at Friday, 03 July 2009 06:27by wildtuinman

Michel, this is extremely fascinating. Thanks for sharing it with us!

7Comment
at Saturday, 04 July 2009 21:25by Katja Soehngen

Great shot Gaston!
Very well done :-)
I acn almost feel your excitement while taking this photo.
I am always amazed about the high quality of bird shots in the GBT flickr pool..
And thank you so much for the extra information Michel !!
Thank you both for sharing this with us.

8Comment
at Monday, 06 July 2009 12:32by Candys Style

Lovely photo of this rare bird, Gaston, and a great write-up, Michel!
I look forward to seeing more South American birds...

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