little ringed plover
{{short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| image = Flussregenpfeifer im flachen Wasser 01.jpg
| image_caption = Near Roermond, Netherlands
| taxon = Charadrius dubius
| authority = Scopoli, 1786
| range_map = CharadriusDubiusIUCN2019-3.png
| range_map_caption = Range of Ch. dubius{{leftlegend|#00FF00|Breeding|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#008000|Resident|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#00FFFF|Passage|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#007FFF|Non-breeding|outline=gray}}
}}
The little ringed plover (Charadrius dubius) is a small plover. The genus name Charadrius is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. It derives from Ancient Greek kharadrios a bird found in river valleys (kharadra, "ravine"). The specific dubius is Latin for doubtful, since Sonnerat, writing in 1776, thought this bird might be just a variant of common ringed plover.{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher=Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n99 99], 141}}
Description
Adult little ringed plovers 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 with white above and a short dark bill. The legs are flesh-coloured and the toes are all webbed.
This species differs from the larger ringed plover in leg colour, the head pattern, and the presence of a clear yellow eye-ring.
{{Listen|filename=Little Ringed Plover.ogg|title=Call|description=Call of little ringed plover|format=Ogg}}
Gallery
Flussregenpfeifer Charadrius dubius.jpg|Mating, the male bird hits the cloaca of the female bird
Charadrius dubius curonicus MHNT.jpg|Egg of Charadrius dubius, MHNT
Little ringed plover - chick.jpg|Little ringed plover chick
Juvenile little ringed plover.jpg|A juvenile at Pulicat Lake, India
File:Little ringed plover - Fulzar Dam, Jamnagar 2021-11-14.jpg|At Fulzar Dam, Jamnagar
Little ringed plover (Charadrius dubius) in padma river.jpg|At Padma River, Bangladesh
File:Little Ringed Plover AMSM6848 LRPL.jpg|Adult in breeding plumage at Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary, Gujarat, India
Little ringed plover (Charadrius dubius) in flight Malta.jpg|In Malta
Habitats and range
Their breeding habitat is open gravel areas near freshwater, including gravel pits, islands and river edges across the Palearctic including northwestern Africa. They nest on the ground on stones with little or no plant growth. Both males and females take turns incubating the eggs.
They are migratory and winter in Africa. These birds forage for food on muddy areas, usually by sight. They eat insects and worms.
Subspecies
Three subspecies recognized.
- C. d. curonicus J. F. Gmelin, 1789 - from Eurasia, Russian Fareast, Japan, Korea, China to North Africa. Winter spends in Sahara, Sri Lanka, to Indonesia and China.
- C. d. jerdoni (Legge, 1880) - from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan to South East Asia.
- C. d. dubius Scopoli, 1786 - from the Philippines, New Guinea to Bismarck Archipelago.
Conservation
The little ringed plover is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Charadrius dubius}}
{{Wikispecies|Charadrius dubius}}
- [http://www.ebepe.com/html/redshank.html Little ringed plover] Images and documentation
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20180425032415/https://aulaenred.ibercaja.es/wp-content/uploads/168_LittleRingedPloverCdubius.pdf Sexing and ageing (PDF; 5.4 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze]
- {{BirdLife|22693770|Charadrius dubius}}
- {{Avibase|name=Charadrius dubius}}
- {{InternetBirdCollection|Little-ringed-plover-Charadrius-dubius|Little ringed plover}}
- {{VIREO|Little+ringed+plover|Little ringed plover}}
- {{IUCN_Map|22693770/166264107|Charadrius dubius}}
- {{Xeno-canto species|Charadrius|dubius|Little ringed plover}}
- {{field guide birds of the world|Charadrius dubius}}
- {{ARKive}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q18851}}
{{Authority control}}