Eurasian dotterel
Eudromias morinellus
Maxim Misyura · Kola District
Key facts in one look
- Size
- 20–22 cm; wingspan 57–64 cm; 75–150 g
- Diet
- Beetles, flies, worms, snails, berries
- Status in Georgia
- Rare migrant
- Habitat
- Stony tundra and mountain plateaus; semi-deserts in winter
- Family
- Charadriidae
- Conservation
- Global LC (2025); Georgia LC
In the Eurasian dotterel the roles are reversed: the female is brighter than the male, while the male sits on the eggs and raises the chicks. This plover (Eudromias morinellus) breeds on the Arctic tundra and on stony plateaus in high mountains, from Norway to eastern Siberia and the Altai, and winters in the semi-deserts of North Africa and the Middle East. In Georgia it is rare and seen on migration: in April 2024 a flock of nine was counted in Kakheti. It hardly shies away from people and lets them come close. It is not dangerous to people. You can recognise it easily by its broad white eyebrows and the white band across its breast.
Identification
Eurasian dotterel: how to identify it
A compact plover, slightly smaller than the golden plover, with a short neck and a short bill. In every plumage it has broad white eyebrows that meet on the nape like a Latin V. A white band runs across the breast, and in flight it shows no white wing bar.
In summer the breast is chestnut, bordered above by a white band, the belly is black and the back warm brown. The legs are yellow and the short bill black. The female is more brightly coloured than the male, and males are on average slightly smaller.
In winter the bright colour of the underparts disappears and only the white breast band remains, while the upperparts turn greyer. The eyebrow takes on a yellowish tinge. Juveniles have a scaly back and otherwise resemble winter birds.
In winter plumage it recalls the golden plover, but the golden plover lacks such pale stripes on the head and breast. In flight it stands out by its plain wings without a wing bar. The flight call is a soft, falling trill, and the female gives a short, repeated whistle.
Colour
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
It breeds on stony upland tundra in Eurasia, from Norway to eastern Siberia, and on tundra-like plateaus in high mountains: the Scottish Highlands, the Alps, the Urals and the Altai. Its places are dry, stony flats with sparse lichen, moss and low grass. In the mountains of Central Asia it goes up to 3500 m, and in the Swiss Alps to 2600 m. It winters in a narrow belt of semi-desert across North Africa and the Middle East, from Morocco to Iraq and Iran. On migration small flocks stop at the same places every year, usually on ploughed fields and grassland. In Georgia it is rare and seen on migration. In April 2024 a flock of nine was counted in southeastern Kakheti, and in September 2025 a single bird was seen in Adjara, in the Chorokhi delta. In 1973 a ringed bird was recorded on the coast of Abkhazia.
The Eurasian dotterel map combines public iNaturalist observations. Regions are taken from the records-by-region table, and the status column separates regions with enough records from regions with too few records. Record counts reflect observation effort rather than population density. Records are still too few to mark any region as part of the range.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
- Field observation
- Several records in one spot
- Region with records
It feeds on insects and other small invertebrates, mainly beetles, flies, worms and snails. It also eats crowberries. It hunts by running and stopping suddenly, rather than steadily probing the ground with its bill.
It is a migrant. In spring it flies to its breeding grounds in the north and in the mountains, and in autumn to North Africa and the Middle East. It is not always faithful to one breeding site and may move from one country to another within a summer. It is less wary than other plovers and lets people come close. The nest is a bare scrape in the ground. It lays 3 eggs, sometimes 1 to 4. Usually the male incubates, for 24–28 days, and he also raises the chicks. Meanwhile the female often finds another male and lays a new clutch. The chicks hatch covered in down and fledge at 25–30 days. Birds usually start breeding at two years old.
Globally the Eurasian dotterel is listed as Least Concern (LC, 2025). It is a widespread species, and its numbers are falling slowly, but not alarmingly. In some countries the decline is sharper: in Scotland breeding males fell from 980 to 423, or by 57%, between 1987 and 2011. The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies to it. In the 2021 assessment for the Red List of Georgia it is also Least Concern (LC) in Georgia. The 2024 Georgian checklist lists it as a casual bird and a migrant, confirmed by photographs and by birds taken by hunters. Its numbers here are thought to be stable.
Related guides
Continue with related pages
Yes, rarely, on migration. In April 2024 a flock of nine was counted in southeastern Kakheti, and in September 2025 a single bird was seen in the Chorokhi delta. Its presence in Georgia is also confirmed by photographs and by birds taken by hunters.
It is a compact, short-billed plover with broad white eyebrows that meet on the nape like a V. It has a white band across the breast, and in summer a chestnut breast and black belly below it. These head and breast stripes show in winter too.
Yes. Usually the male sits on the eggs for 24–28 days and also looks after the chicks. Meanwhile the female often finds another male and lays a new clutch. And it is the female that is more brightly coloured.
It is slightly smaller and more compact, with a short neck and a short bill. The golden plover lacks the broad white eyebrow and the white breast band. In flight its wings are plain, without a white bar.
The dotterel is less wary than other plovers and lets people come close. Because of this it was once easy to hunt, and its name is linked to it: morinellus means "foolish". Do not take advantage of its trust, and do not flush the flock.
It is harmless to people. Globally it is listed as Least Concern (LC, 2025), and in Georgia it is also in the LC category. But in some countries, such as Scotland, its numbers have fallen noticeably.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
