[5] The rufous-chested dotterel is placed by itself in genus Zonibyx by several authors and International Ornithologists' Union, but that treatment had not been widely accepted before 2023.

Non-breeding adults replace the rufous and gray with pale brown; their upperparts feathers have bright fringes and their supercilium is creamy.

[7] The rufous-chested dotterel is found on the Falkland Islands and coastally to somewhat inland in Argentina, Uruguay, extreme southeastern Brazil, and Chile.

[5] In the breeding season it primarily inhabits short grasslands away from the coast but also boggy or stony areas around inland lakes and coastal shingle.

Outside the breeding season it inhabits inland eroded and flooded grasslands, marshes, and streams, and also coastal mudflats, beaches, and rocky shores.

[1] It is "generally reckoned to be not uncommon" and its habitat in "zones with relatively limited human impact suggests species [is] likely to be secure at present".