Eurasian Dotterel

Charadrius morinellus

Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Charadriidae
Presence in the Strait: Vagrant
Protection in Spain: Vulnerable · Andalusian Catalogue
In Spanish: Chorlito carambolo

Photograph: Frank Vassen, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 21 cm
Weight: 110 g

Presence in the Strait

Accidental. One bird seen in September 1987 on Los Lances beach.

Identification

Winter plumage reminiscent of European Golden Plover, but smaller, with broad white supercilium to neck, pale breast-band and yellowish legs. In flight, long dark plain primaries, with narrow white leading edge, and plain rump and tail. In breeding plumage, rust-orange breast below white breast-band and black belly. Breeds high in mountain areas of Europe.

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

72 %

Peak in September. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 15 October 2000
Latest record: 7 September 2021

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Vulnerable
Spanish Catalogue: Vulnerable
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: DD · Data deficient · breeding — DD · Data deficient · wintering or migrating
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Annex I of the Birds Directive

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Same genus in the Strait

Ringed Plover18–20 cm · Seasonal
Kentish Plover15–17 cm · Resident
Common Little Ringed Plover14–15 cm · Resident

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Charadriidae
GBIF taxon key: 2480282

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Frank Vassen, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Eurasian Dotterel

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Gallery