Madagascar Plover
Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0

Plovers and Lapwings

Madagascar Plover

Anarhynchus thoracicus

VUVulnerable Endemic to Madagascar
Family
Plovers and Lapwings (Charadriidae)
Order
Charadriiformes

Overview

The Madagascar plover (Anarhynchus thoracicus), also known as the black-banded plover, is a small (37 g) monogamous shorebird in the family Charadriidae, native to western Madagascar. It inhabits shores of lagoons, coastal grasslands, and breeds in salt marshes. These plovers mainly nest in open grassland and dry mudflats surrounding alkaline lakes. The species is classified as vulnerable by the IUCN because of its low breeding success, slow reproductive rate, and weak adaptation to increasing habitat loss, leading to declining population numbers.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Range and habitat

Coastal western Madagascar.

Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.

Continents

Countries

Sources and further reading

Last updated September 29, 2026.