Adult females have a paler rufous and grey-brown crown and hindneck, with a pale loreal stripe.

[2] The red-capped plover is widespread in Australia; it is a vagrant to New Zealand, although it bred there for some time in small numbers from 1950–1980.

The red-capped plover is a seasonal breeder on the coasts of Australia, but breeds in response to unpredictable rains inland.

Upon hatching, the young are open-eyed, mobile, and relatively mature (precocial); they flee the nest shortly after birth (nidifugous).

With a large range and no evidence of significant population decline, this species' conservation status is of Least Concern.