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Story: Wading birds

Male dotterel displaying

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Male dotterel displaying

This male New Zealand dotterel in full breeding plumage is giving a distraction display to try and lure the photographer away from the nest. The former breeding range of the southern subspecies included the high country of the eastern South Island, but Stewart Island is now their only breeding site. They breed above the bush line, while the northern subspecies breeds on the coast.

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Department of Conservation

Reference: 10031565

by Don Merton

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How to cite this page

Gerard Hutching, Wading birds – Dotterels, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/9168/male-dotterel-displaying (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Gerard Hutching, published 2 March 2009.