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9

Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) Alternate name(s): "Ringed Plover" German name(s): "Sandregenpfeifer" Size: 17-19.5 cm; wing span 35-41 cm Body mass: 42-78 g Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.33-0.37

Europe: Family Group 9 Family Group 9 Table Red Phalarope Red-necked Phalarope Eurasian Stone-curlew Black-winged Stilt Pied Avocet Collared Pratincole Eurasian Oystercatcher Common Ringed Plover Little Ringed Plover Kentish Plover Grey Plover European Golden Plover Eurasian Dotterel Sociable Lapwing Northern Lapwing Spur-winged Lapwing Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Common Ringed Plovers are very small waders. When seen in Europe, they are usually in breeding plumage, with a black-and-white facial mask and an otherwise grey back of the head. Common Ringed Plovers do not have orbital rings (eye-rings). The only difference between the sexes is that the female's facial mask, in particular the spot behind the ears, is a bit duller than the male's. The neck is a white band, widest at the front, under which they have a single broad, black chest band. The rest of the front, down to the undertail coverts, is white. The back and the wings are grey, with some faint vermiculation on the wing coverts. In flight they show a thin white wing bar near the trailing edge of the upperwings. The irises are dark. The bill is orange, with a black tip; legs and feet are also orange. During the non-breeding season, apart from off-white supercilia and an off-white patch on the frons, the head is grey. Also the back is grey and they have a single, wide darker-grey chest band. The rest of the front is entirely white, as is a thin neck band. Outside the breeding season the bill is dark-grey, but the legs and feet stay orange. Juvenile Common Ringed Plovers resemble non-breeding adults, but with more greyish-orange legs.

Taxonomy, classification See Common Ringed Plover at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Common Ringed Plover is available HERE . There are 3 extant races of Common Ringed Plovers, which are a partly migratory species. Their overall range is very extended, with breeding grounds all around the Arctic and wintering grounds in much of the Mediterranean, Asia Minor, Arabia, south-western Asia, and large parts of Africa. In between breeding grounds and winter quarters they can be found during their migration. They are long-distance migrants that are also present on most Atlantic islands, ranging from Greenland, Iceland and Spitsbergen to the Azores. In Europe Common Ringed Plovers are found as permanent residents along the German/Dutch North Sea coastline, around Ireland and the northern coastline of Scotland and the Scottish islands in the North Sea. Elsewhere they are migratory. Apart from wetlands in parts of eastern England, in inland Poland, along the Danish North Sea coast, around the Baltic Sea their breeding grounds are inside the Arctic circle, in much of Norway and northern Finland, including inland mountainous regions, and along the northern Russian seaboard. Along the European Atlantic coastline and the Mediterrenean coast they are found as winter visitors. In intervening areas (parts of Scandinavia, parts of eastern Europe between the Baltic Sea and the Adriatic) and along a few well-defined flight paths, they can be found during their migration. During the breeding season Common Ringed Plovers have a strong preference for open areas near water, usually sandy or rocky surfaces or gravel. They are usually found near the water's edge and will also nest not far from water.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "hiaticula" H. Dahlem-Senger reports finding Common Ringed Plovers, nominate race "hiaticula", at Naturschutzgebiet (Nature Reserve) Wallnau/Fehmarn, on the German Baltic Sea island of Fehmarn, Germany, in June 2018. Others were found at Neuharlingersiel, Ostfriesland, Germany, in September 2024. D. Wilczynska spotted a Common Ringed Plover, race "hiaticula", on the river Bug, near Malkinia, Masovia, Poland, in June 2018. M. Eaton reports spotting a Common Ringed Plover, nominate race "hiaticula", near Tromso airport, Tromso, Norway, in June 2018. J. Pires reports finding Common Ringed Plovers, race "hiaticula", in the Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, in the timeframe February/March 2018, and again in May 2019. H. Dahlem-Senger also spotted Common Ringed Plovers, nominate race "hiaticula", at Parc Natural de s'Albufera de Mallorca, Mallorca, Spain, in May 2023. A. Sarok reports finding Common Ringed Plovers, race "hiaticula", in Vojvodina, Serbia, in the timeframe 2010-2024. Race "tundrae" Photos shown here of Common Ringed Plovers, race "tundrae", in non-breeding plumage were taken by M. Eaton in Egypt.

Photos

Race "hiaticula"

ADULT

MALE

BREEDING

Near-frontal view of a male Common Ringed Plover in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Caxias, Lisbon, Portugal, January 2019]

Near-lateral view of a male Common Ringed Plover in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Malkinia, Masovia, Poland, June 2018]

Close-up lateral view of a male Common Ringed Plover in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Tromso airport, Tromso, Norway, June 2018]

Lateral view of a male Common Ringed Plover in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Lateral view of a male Common Ringed Plover in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Montijo, Tejo estuary, Portugal, February 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a male Common Ringed Plover in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, December 2017]

Near-dorsal view of a male Common Ringed Plover in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Parc Natural de s'Albufera de Mallorca, Mallorca, Spain, May 2023]

Common Ringed Plovers in various states of plumage together with Kentish Plovers
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, March 2018]

Common Ringed Plovers in various states of plumage roosting together with other waders, including Kentish Plovers
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, March 2018]

FEMALE

BREEDING

Lateral view of a female Common Ringed Plover in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Naturschutzgebiet Wallnau/Fehmarn, Fehmarn, Germany, June 2018]

Lateral view of a female Common Ringed Plover in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Naturschutzgebiet Wallnau/Fehmarn, Fehmarn, Germany, June 2018]

Dorsal view of a female Common Ringed Plover in breeding plumage; in this perspective the long supercilium is conspicuous
(photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Naturschutzgebiet Wallnau/Fehmarn, Fehmarn, Germany, June 2018]

NON-BREEDING

Frontal view of a female Common Ringed Plover in non-breeding plumage; note the rounded shape of the cheek pattern and the orange leg
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sapal de Alhos Vedros, Moita, Setubal, Portugal, January 2025]

Lateral view of a Common Ringed Plover in moulting into breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Caxias, Lisbon, Portugal, January 2019]

Lateral view of a Common Ringed Plover moulting into breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Montijo, Tejo estuary, Portugal, February 2019]

Frontal view of a Common Ringed Plover in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Caxias, Lisbon, Portugal, January 2019]

Near-frontal view of a Common Ringed Plover in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Caxias, Lisbon, Portugal, January 2019]

Near-frontal view of a Common Ringed Plover in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Caxias, Lisbon, Portugal, January 2019]

Near-lateral view of a Common Ringed Plover in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Caxias, Lisbon, Portugal, January 2019]

Lateral view of a Common Ringed Plover in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Lateral view of a Common Ringed Plover in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, December 2017]

Near-dorsal view of a Common Ringed Plover in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, March 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a Common Ringed Plover in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, March 2018]

Near-dorsal view from above of a Common Ringed Plover in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Caxias, Lisbon, Portugal, January 2019]

Near-dorsal view from above of a Common Ringed Plover in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Caxias, Lisbon, Portugal, January 2019]

Dorsal view of a Common Ringed Plover in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Moita do Ribatejo, Tejo estuary, Portugal, February 2019]

Lateral view of a Common Ringed Plover in non-breeding plumage banking to land (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Albufeira de Morgavel, Sines, Setubal, Portugal, October 2020]

Race "tundrae"

ADULT

NON-BREEDING

Lateral view of a Common Ringed Plover in non-breeding plumage feeding on a mudflat; note the characteristic orange legs (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[November 2017]

Behaviour

Common Ringed Plovers are sedentary around Scotland and its associated chains of islands and along the Atlantic and North Sea coastline from Bretagne to the Dutch/German coast. Elsewhere they are migratory, as winter visitors in the South of their range and as summer breeding migrants in the northern part of the range. Outside the breeding season, Common Ringed Plovers can form substantial flocks.

Common Ringed Plovers can travel in large flocks - every "rock" in this photo is a bird resting on the ground...!
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Moita do Ribatejo, Tejo estuary, Portugal, September 2019]

It may be surprising to see, but even aquatic birds need to take a bath to clean their plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, December 2017]

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.

More Common 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.