Among birds, it’s males that tend to be showier, sing most, set up and defend territories, and take the initiative during courtship. Dotterels do things di erently. With these lovely little waders – relatives of the ringed plover – it is females that seize the limelight. They’re also bigger and bolder than their partners, a phenomenon known as reverse sexual dimorphism.
Male dotterels, meanwhile, take care of all of the incubation, brooding and chick-protection duties, leaving the females free to head o , often to mate again with a second or even third male. Amazingly, some of these footloose females do so in another country. For example, a female may migrate from her North African wintering grounds to the Scottish Highlands to find a mate, then fly to Scandinavia to…