Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus dilmunii

Geographlcal differences in young Kentish Plover

Kentish Plover

Charadrius alexandrinus dilmunii another new subspecies of Kentish Plover for the Middle East

The long unfeathered shanks (tibia) are typical for the Kentish Plovers of Bahrain they are an adaptation which helps them to cope with the extreme heat of the desert it helps them cooling. No such shanks in the European and other Asian populations.

They are less colourfull than the other Arabian Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus omanii, their plumage is rather dull. I propose to name them Charadrius alexandrinus dilmunii. The name DILMUN is the ancient name for the island of Bahrain

Howard King,who organised the first Arabian Ornithological Congress in Bahrain in October 2000. took the photos, the first batch, on an older, well-vegetated, reclaimed island called Nurana Island. (see screenshot of the attached map.).