Common Ringed Plover
Charadrius hiaticula
The Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) is a common plovers and lapwing found in 145 countries, weighing about 64 g. The common ringed plover, great ringed plover or ringed plover is a species of bird in the family Charadriidae.
About the Common Ringed Plover
The common ringed plover, great ringed plover or ringed plover is a species of bird in the family Charadriidae. It breeds across much of northern Eurasia, as well as Greenland.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
Adults are 17–19.5 cm (6.7–7.7 in) in length with a 35–41 cm (14–16 in) wingspan. They have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband. They have a brown cap, a white forehead, a black mask around the eyes and a short orange and black bill. The legs are orange and only the outer two toes are slightly webbed, unlike the slightly smaller but otherwise very similar semipalmated plover, which has all three toes slightly webbed, and also a marginally narrower breast band; it was in former times included in the present species.
What the Common Ringed Plover sounds like
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Luxembourg, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Maldives, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan.
When to see it
Best months: March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, with peak activity in August. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Common Ringed Plover?
- Adults are 17–19.5 cm (6.7–7.7 in) in length with a 35–41 cm (14–16 in) wingspan. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Common Ringed Plover?
- The Common Ringed Plover is a medium sized bird weighing about 64 g.
- Where can you see a Common Ringed Plover?
- The Common Ringed Plover occurs in 145 countries, including Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, Spain and France.
- What does a Common Ringed Plover sound like?
- You can listen to 3 field recordings of the Common Ringed Plover on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.
- What birds look similar to a Common Ringed Plover?
- The Common Ringed Plover is most easily confused with the Semipalmated Plover, the Piping Plover and the Killdeer.
- Is the Common Ringed Plover endangered?
- The Common Ringed Plover is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Common Ringed Plover for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
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