This is Bird Note.

The Magellanic plover is known for being a bit of an oddball.

For a while, scientists thought these shorebirds might be related to doves,

because Magellanic plovers feed their young with milk produced in a part of their digestive system called the crop.

It's a rare trait they share with doves.

They even have gray feathers, pink legs, and a round body like a dove.

But genetic data revealed that Magellanic clover are neither a true plover nor a dove.

Instead, they're the only species in the family Pluvianelody.

Genetically speaking, they're one of a kind.

Magellanic plovers are native to southern Chile and Argentina. There are probably no more than several thousand of them in the world.

National parks along Argentina's coast provide habitat for the species.

Magellanic plovers use their strong legs to sprint across the beach and dig in the sand for food.

The birds drink by submerging their whole heads, then throwing them backwards,

unlike other shorebirds which drink by delicately dipping their bills underwater.

This species just has a different way of doing things,

and the bird world is all the richer for it.

For Bird Note, I'm Ariana Rimmel.

This episode is dedicated to Kit Ellis of Gig Harbor, Washington, with thanks for her generous support of Bird Note.