Lesser Sand Plover

There are five races, and the large east Asian forms, C. m. mongolus and C. m. stegmanni, are sometimes given specific status as Mongolian Plover, Charadrius mongolus. If the taxonomic split is accepted, Lesser Sandplover as then defined becomes Charadrius atrifrons, including the three races atrifrons, pamirensis and schaeferi.

Picture of the Lesser Sand Plover has been licensed under a GFDL
Original source: JJ Harrison (http://www.noodlesnacks.com/)Camera location
Author: JJ Harrison (http://www.noodlesnacks.com/)Camera location
Permission: GNU Free Documentation License

The Lesser Sand Plover is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

Lesser Sand Plovers with a Sanderling in Chilika, Orissa, India. Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Charadriiformes Family: Charadriidae Genus: Charadrius Species: C. More

The Lesser Sand Plover, Charadrius mongolus, is a small wader in the plover family of birds. The spelling is commonly given as Lesser Sandplover, but the official British Ornithologists' Union spelling is Lesser Sand Plover. There are five races, and the large east Asian forms, C. m. mongolus and C. m. stegmanni, are sometimes given specific status as Mongolian Plover, Charadrius mongolus. More

The Lesser Sand Plover's food is insects, crustaceans and annelid worms, which are obtained by a run-and-pause technique, rather than the steady probing of some other wader groups. This species takes fewer steps and shorter pauses than Greater when feeding. Call / Vocalization The flight call is a hard trill. More

The lesser sand plover is a small wading shorebird with greyish-brown upperparts, a white abdomen and throat, and a black forehead. During the breeding season, the feathers on the top of the head and on the breast turn a rusty red, and the sides of the cheeks become black. More

Lesser Sand Plovers with Sanderlings in Chilika, Orissa, India. Lesser Sand Plovers with Sanderlings in Chilika, Orissa, India. This chunky plover is long-legged and long-billed. Breeding males have grey backs and white underparts. The breast, forehead and nape are chestnut, and there is a black eye mask. The female is duller, and winter and juvenile birds lack the chestnut, apart from a hint of rufous on the head. Legs are dark and the bill black. More

The non-breeding Lesser Sand Plover has a grey-brown crown, nape, back and breast patches. The forehead, lores, bill and upperwing are dark; ear coverts are dusky. There is prominent white plumage on the forehead, chin, throat and underparts, including the underwing. The Lesser Sand Plover is distinguished from the Greater Sand Plover by a smaller body with a more upright stance, more compact appearance and dark grey, rather than greenish legs. More

alexandrinus Lesser Sand Plover, Charadrius mongolus Snowy Plover, on the beach at Vanderberg, CA Plovers are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. They are known to dive in lakes looking for fish. There are about 40 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel". The closely related lapwing subfamily, Vanellinae, comprises another 20-odd species. Plovers are found throughout the world, and are characterised by relatively short bills. More

Videos and images previous Lesser sand plover videoARKive requires Flash to show its video content; click here to install the plugin next videoLesser sand plover in breeding plumage, foraging in shallow water Species related by - * Family group * Habitat * Conservation status * * Link to this video * Email to a friend More

For the purposes of our bird news services, Lesser Sand Plover is classed as Mega: species which have not yet occurred in the British Isles or are exceedingly rare, or are otherwise highly desirable. More

Lesser Sand Plover Charadrius mongolus copyright Clive Harris The Kentish Plover is by far the most widespread and winters fairly commonly and breeds sparingly in various parts of India. It is found on sandy and muddy coasts and in similar habitats inland near lakes and rivers but can be rather irregular in occurrence in our area. It is significantly smaller than the two Sand-plovers but the best distinction in all plumages is the white collar. More

The Lesser Sand Plover are getting ready to leave our shores for their northern migration and are showing lots of beautiful colour. So when we next count this site the numbers of birds and species should be well down. Overall count for this day was 15 species 1650 birds. More

Order : Charadriiformes
Family : Charadriidae
Genus : Charadrius
Species : mongolus
Authority : Pallas, 1776