Tawny-throated Dotterel, Oreopholus ruficollis, Pali Aike NP, Magallanes, Chile

Tawny-throated Dotterel, Photo ©Rodrigo Tapia, Far South Expeditions

A solitary Tawny-throated Dotterel, Oreopholus ruficollis pops up from behind lichen-covered volcanic rocks in the steppe of Pali Aike NP in Magallanes, Chilean Patagonia. A handsome and rare shorebird with its orange throat patch and streaked back, it occupies open, arid and semi-arid habitats mostly along the Pacific slope of the Andes mountains, from sea level to more than 4,000m in altitude.