Daigoro!

It's fun to look through and process old photos and put them into this blog. I recently came across a thread about ringing Malaysian Plovers (Charadrius peronii) in the Gulf of Thailand, and it reminded me that I also have many photos of this species as well. The Malaysian Plover is listed as Near Threatened in IUCN Red Data List. It is one of the very few resident waders in Thailand, which inhabits along the coastal areas ranging from the inner part of the Gulf of Thailand to the tip of the Malaysian Peninsula. I've got a chance to photograph this scarce bird during a trip to Chumphon Province with my family. A pair was showing up regularly at the sandy beach in front of the resort that we were staying in. Male bird is cute with the same head pattern as the hair cut of the famous Japanese manga character in the 70s, Daigoro. It looks very similar to the much more widespread Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) in breeding plumage, but the body structure and upperwing coverts are pretty much different. The Malaysian Plover seems to be thinner looking with a striking big head. Its upperwing coverts also show buffish scales unlike the plain brownish upperwings of the Kentish Plover. The bird is mainly threatened by heavy habitat loss caused by development as well as human activities on sandy beaches, which is the main habitat for this bird. For more photos of the ringing session of the plover's chicks, please visit here (in Thai only).