dotterel

Bird Eudromias morinellus of the plover family, in order Charadriiformes, nesting on high moors and tundra in Europe and Asia, and migrating south for the winter. About 23 cm/9 in long, its plumage is patterned with black, brown, and white in summer, duller in winter, but always with white eyebrows and breastband. The female is larger than the male, and mates up to five times with different partners, each time laying her eggs and leaving them in the sole care of the male, who incubates and rears the brood. Three pale-green eggs with brown markings are laid in hollows in the ground.

While the dotterel males incubate the brood, they often leave the eggs unattended for periods of between two and ten hours, in temperatures as low as 0°C, whilst they seek food. In 2000, Scottish researchers discovered that, contrary to previous belief, the eggs still hatch if their temperature has dropped to such levels during incubation, although they take longer to do so. Researchers have concluded that the embryos enter a form of suspended animation when exposed to harsh conditions.