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9

Little Ringed Plover

(Charadrius dubius)
German name(s): "Flussregenpfeifer"
Size: 15.5-18 cm; wing span 32-35 cm
Weight: 26-53 g

Similar
species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Little Ringed Plover at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

Race "dubius"

ADULT

BREEDING

MALE

Frontal view of a male Little Ringed Plover in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, near Mora, Evora, Portugal, March 2019]

Frontal view of a male Little Ringed Plover in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, near Mora, Evora, Portugal, March 2019]

Frontal view of a male Little Ringed Plover in breeding plumage trying to impress a competitor
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, July 2014]

Near-frontal view of a male Little Ringed Plover in breeding plumage; note the black side of the head
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2014]

Near-lateral view of a male Little Ringed Plover in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Alges, Lisbon, Portugal, May 2017]

Lateral view of a male Little Ringed Plover in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, March 2016]

Lateral view of a male Little Ringed Plover in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, near Mora, Evora, Portugal, February 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a male Little Ringed Plover in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, July 2018]

Direct comparison between a male Little Ringed Plover and a male Kentish Plover, both in breeding plumage
(photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Alges, Lisbon, Portugal, May 2017]

FEMALE

Near-frontal view of a female Little Ringed Plover in breeding plumage; note the grey sides of the head
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, July 2018]

Frontal view of a female Little Ringed Plover in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, near Mora, Evora, Portugal, March 2019]

Lateral view of a female Little Ringed Plover in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of S. Cuturilov)
[Near Kursumlija, South-east Serbia, June 2016]

NON-BREEDING

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Little Ringed Plover in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Montargil Dam, near Mora, Evora, Portugal, September 2019]

Lateral view of a Little Ringed Plover in non-breeding plumage; note the buff hues on the side of the head (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Castro Marim, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Little Ringed Plover in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Castro Marim, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Little Ringed Plover in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Castro Marim, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal view of a Little Ringed Plover chick (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2018]

Lateral view of a Little Ringed Plover chick (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2018]

Race "curonicus"

Photos of Little Ringed Plovers, race "curonicus", were taken in Australia.

Breeding information

Breeding season: Apr - Sep Eggs: 3 - 4 Incubation period: 22 - 28 days Fledging age: Precocial

Little Ringed Plover chicks leave their nest at a very young age, soon after the last egg has hatched. They can fly at about 24-29 days of age. Little Ringed Plovers can have more than one brood per season and may engage helpers during the nesting period.

Nest building: Male? Incubation: Female & male Dependent care: Female & male

Nest

Type: Scrape Material: Rocks, sand Height above ground: N/A

Little Ringed Plover nest with four eggs in it (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Portugal, May 2020]

Male Little Ringed Plover working on a scrape (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, near Mora, Evora, Portugal, March 2019]

Male Little Ringed Plover working on a scrape (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, near Mora, Evora, Portugal, March 2019]

Male Little Ringed Plover working on a scrape (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, near Mora, Evora, Portugal, March 2019]

Eggs

Size: 31 x 22 mm Colour: White, greyish-blue or creamy, with grey to black speckles Shape: Long tapered oval

Little Ringed Plovers have the ability to adapt the base colour of their egg shells to the surrounding landscape for camouflage.

Closer look at 4 Little Ringed Plover eggs; note the adaptation of the colour of the eggs to the surrounding colours (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Portugal, May 2020]

Behaviour

The courtship of Little Ringed Plovers, and the defence of their territories, can be a noisy affair, but once nesting has started the species falls silent.

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

lirplov_jp_20200519.m4a (Portugal) Contact calls(?) © JP
lirplov_jp_20180703.m4a (Portugal) Contact call(?) © JP

More Little Ringed Plover sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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