Thinornis is a genus of plovers in the family Charadriidae.
Taxonomy The genus Thinornis was introduced in 1844 by the English zoologist George Robert Gray to accommodate a single species, Thinornis rossii G.R. Gray, which is now considered a junior synonym of Charadrius novaeseelandiae J.F. Gmelin, the shore plover. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek this meaning "beach" or "sand" with ornis meaning "bird". Genetic studies have shown that Thinornis is sister to the genus Charadrius.
The genus contains seven species: Image Common name Scientific name DistributionHooded ploverThinornis cucullatussouthern Australia, including TasmaniaShore ploverThinornis novaeseelandiaeChatham IslandsBlack-fronted dotterelThinornis melanopsAustralia, western Tasmania and New ZealandForbes's ploverThinornis forbesigrassland and rocky hillsides of western and central AfricaThree-banded ploverThinornis tricollarissouthern Egypt and sub-Saharan AfricaLong-billed ploverThinornis placidusManchuria and East AsiaLittle ringed ploverThinornis dubiusEurasia
An additional species, the Auckland Islands shore plover (Thinornis rossii), known from just one specimen collected in 1840, is now generally considered to be a juvenile shore plover whose location was incorrectly recorded.
References
Further reading Les Christidis, Walter Boles: Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. CSIRO Publishing. 2008.