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PLATE 38: SMALL PLOVERS I
Eurasian Dotterel Charadrius morinellus V
L: 21. W: 60. Brownish, dry-country plover; in non-breeding plumage recalls winter European Golden
Plover, but smaller and with whitish supercilia, meeting in āVā on nape, and narrow, whitish upper
breast-band in all plumages. Adult breeding female (male duller) has striking white supercilium
and throat contrasting with blackish cap and greyish neck, upper breast bordered white, with
chestnut and blackish below. Adult non-breeding and immature with brown, scaly upperparts
and buff underparts. No wing-bar in flight, but shows white tip to tail, and buffish-grey underwing;
white shaft on outer primary sometimes rather distinctive. Voice Trilling, rather dry Dunlin-like
dryrrr. Habitat Steppes and poor arable land. Note Passage and winter hatched; vagrant Bahrain,
Oman, UAE.Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius PM, WV, rb
L: 15. W: 45. Small, slim, long-winged plover with horizontal stance. In breeding plumage similar to
Common Ringed Plover, but breast-band narrower and lacks white wing-bar in flight; note yellow
orbital ring, dark bill, white line behind black forecrown, and muddy-coloured or pinkish legs. Adult
non-breeding and juvenile have almost plain brown forehead with ill-defined pale patch behind or
above eye and duller orbital ring; breast-band is broken or absent. Juvenile also has yellow-buff
tinge to face and throat. Separated from all other plovers by call and lack of wing-bar. Mostly
solitary or in pairs, sometimes small groups. Voice Flight and alarm call a loud, plaintive almost
monosyllabic diu; in wavering display flight, with slow wingbeats, gives pree-pree-pree and tern-like
krre-u krre-u. Habitat Mainly freshwater, in particular gravelly river islands and sandy borders of
lakes; also coastal in winter. Note Passage hatched; some winter, mainly in S Arabia.Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula PM, WV
L: 19. W: 52. Small plover with orange legs and black-tipped bill, black breast-band and white
hindneck collar. In flight, shows conspicuous white wing-bar. In non-breeding adult black is
replaced by dark grey-brown, supercilium and forehead are tinged brown, and bill becomes all dark.
Juvenile similar but is paler and duller, often with broken breast-band; upperparts with buff feather-
fringes. Distinguished from Little Ringed Plover by white wing-bar, lack of pale orbital ring, and pale
supercilium in juvenile. Separated from other plovers by obvious white hindneck collar and call.
Mainly nominate subspecies occurs around Mediterranean basin, but further east most often only
the subspecies tundrae, with darker upperparts, encountered. Voice A soft, rising, disyllabic whistle
tooip. Habitat Sandy, muddy and stony shores, both coastal and inland. Note Passage and winter
hatched; some oversummer.Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus RB, PM, WV
L: 16. W: 44. Small, sandy plover with white underparts, rather long, blackish legs, conspicuous
white hindneck collar and lacking complete breast-band; in flight, a clear, white wing-bar and
broad white sides to tail. Adult breeding male has variable rufous cap, black frontal (forehead)
bar, and lateral black breast-patches. Breeding female, adult non-breeding and juvenile are duller,
lacking black in plumage, and resemble non-breeding Common Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers, but
separated by rather long, blackish legs, white breast, more white in tail, and call. By late-summer
plumage of some individuals may bleach to entirely pale sandy-whitish above, with breast-patches
also often entirely missing. Voice Flight call a soft kip or twit, recalling Little Stint; song a rattled
repetition of tjekke-tjekke or jid-id-jid... eer. Habitat Shingle, sandy and muddy beaches, mudflats,
mainly coastal but also inland, often on saline lagoons. Note Passage and winter hatched.