Three-banded plover

Charadrius tricollaris

The Three-banded plover (Charadrius tricollaris) is a bird found in South Africa and Namibia. Pond and river edges across southern and eastern Africa. It eats insects and other small invertebrates. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Charadrius tricollaris
Region	Africa
Found in	South Africa and Namibia

🏡 Where the Three-banded plover lives

Pond and river edges across southern and eastern Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs100%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It has two black bands across its chest and a red eye-ring.

Hear the Three-banded plover

Recorded by Ross Gallardy (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC418967. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Three-banded plover

Where does the Three-banded plover live?

The Three-banded plover lives in South Africa and Namibia. Pond and river edges across southern and eastern Africa.

What does the Three-banded plover eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 100%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Three-banded plover endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Africa

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.