About Oreopholus ruficollis (Wagler, 1829)
The tawny-throated dotterel (Oreopholus ruficollis) is 25 to 29 cm (9.8 to 11 in) long and weighs 120 to 154 g (4.2 to 5.4 oz). Males and females are alike in appearance, and the species has no seasonal changes to its plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies are mostly rich buff, with heavy dark streaking on the back. They have a white chin, an orange-tawny throat, gray neck and breast, and a small black patch on the belly. Their white underwing is visible when the bird is in flight. Juveniles have a buff throat, less dense streaking on the back, and paler underparts with a brown belly patch. Subspecies O. r. pallidus is very similar to the nominate subspecies, but it is smaller and overall paler in color. The tawny-throated dotterel has two subspecies with different ranges and habitats. Subspecies O. r. pallidus has a limited range; it is found only in coastal northern Peru, as far south as the Department of La Libertad. Birds assumed to be this subspecies have been recorded as vagrants in Ecuador. O. r. pallidus inhabits the coastal plain of Peru. The nominate subspecies is found from southern Peru south through western Bolivia, Chile, and western Argentina into Tierra del Fuego, and east through southern Argentina into Uruguay and southern Brazil. It has also been recorded as a vagrant on the Falkland Islands. The nominate subspecies lives in the puna of the Andes up to an elevation of 4,600 m (15,100 ft). Across the whole species, the tawny-throated dotterel inhabits grasslands, heath shrublands, fields, and meadows.
