Little Ringed Plover

Charadrius dubiusOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Plovers (Charadriidae)

Codes: Common Name: LRPL Scientific Name: CHADUB ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176529

Breeding Location:

On the ground.

Breeding Type:

Loose colonies

Breeding Population:

Casual in AK in spring

Egg Color:

Pale yellow with small dark spots

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

22 - 28

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Nest is a simple shallow scrape, sometimes lined with plants or stones.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Little Ringed Plover: Small, slim plover with brown upperparts and white collar. Bill, lores, forehead, auriculars, and breast band dark, contrasting with white forecrown and white bar behind the dark crown. Conspicuous eye-ring is yellow; legs are dull pink-yellow. Does not show wing bar in flight. Sexes are similar. Winter adult and juvenile have brown instead of black on head and breast, and eye ring is duller.

Range and Habitat

Little Ringed Plover: Casual to Aleutians in spring.

Breeding and Nesting

Little Ringed Plover: Nests mainly on gravelly river banks, lake shores, or small islands, usually near fresh water. Lays four pale yellow eggs with small dark spots. Usually solitary, some may be semi-colonial with about 30 feet between nests. Uses "broken wing" feint to distract predators from eggs or chicks. Young fledge in 24-29 days.

Foraging and Feeding

Little Ringed Plover: Feeds on insects, spiders, and crustaceans found on tidal mud flats, shallow flood pools, open short grasslands, or even bare soil. Hesitant stop-run-peck, in a hunched position, usually higher up on the shore on drier sand or mud.

Vocalization

Little Ringed Plover: Mournful, descending "pee-oo" that carries a long way. Alarm call is an insistent "pip."

Similar Species

Little Ringed Plover: Common Ringed Plover and Semipalmated Plover are larger, lack yellow eye ring, have wider breast band, orange-yellow legs and feet, and orange bill with black tip.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Little Ringed Plover

● Song: "pee-oo", "pip"

● Foraging & Feeding: Little Ringed Plover: Feeds on insects, spiders, and crustaceans found on tidal mud flats, shallow flood pools, open short grasslands, or even bare soil. Hesitant stop-run-peck, in a hunched position, usually higher up on the shore on drier sand or mud.

● Breeding & nesting: Little Ringed Plover: Nests mainly on gravelly river banks, lake shores, or small islands, usually near fresh water. Lays four pale yellow eggs with small dark spots. Usually solitary, some may be semi-colonial with about 30 feet between nests. Uses "broken wing" feint to distract predators from eggs or chicks. Young fledge in 24-29 days.

● Similar species: Little Ringed Plover: Common Ringed Plover and Semipalmated Plover are larger, lack yellow eye ring, have wider breast band, orange-yellow legs and feet, and orange bill with black tip.

Flight Pattern

Direct flight; rapid wing beats, low over ground. May form small flocks of a dozen or so when moving or migrating.

● Range & Habitat: Little Ringed Plover: Casual to Aleutians in spring.

^BreedingLoose colonies

^PopulationCasual in AK in spring

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight1.4 Ounces

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Collar

Similar to the upper part of the human neck, located at the back of the crown.

Crown

The crown is the top part of the birds head.

Eye ring

The circle around the eye formed of feathers that are a different color from the rest of the face.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America