Incubation Behavior of Threatened Oreopholus ruficollis in the Atacama Arid Ecosystem During a “Flowering Desert”: Implications for the Future Conservation of the Species

The Tawny-throated Dotterel is a migratory species listed as “near threatened” in Chile and distributed across diverse ecosystems in South America. However, little is known about its nesting behavior in arid desert ecosystems, where it may utilize certain sporadic vegetation strata for nesting. The Atacama Desert, located between southern Peru and northern Chile, is described as the driest and oldest desert on the planet. Nevertheless, during extraordinary periods of rainfall, this arid zone experiences flowering—primarily in the spring—which can provide an optimal breeding niche for some birds. In this article, we report, for the first time, the discovery of an Tawny-throated Dotterel nest during a “flowering desert” period. The nest was monitored using a camera trap. The egg-incubation frequency observed in our study was mainly distributed during the night, while the adult spent a significant fraction of the day on nesting activities and self-maintenance. Future studies are needed to determine whether this area is indeed a periodic nesting area for the Tawny-throated Dotterel, which would strengthen the designation of this part of the Atacama Desert as a potential conservation area.