Charadrius dubius
Adult: Summer/breeding-Bill black, yellow on mandible at the base; forehead white with black band separated from brown crown by narrow white border; breast band black. Winter/non-breeding-Black replaced by brown. Juvenile: Bill black; forehead tinged pale buff; edge to wings and back buff; breast band usually incomplete. Call: Mournful single long drawn out pe-ou, descending on the second note. Alarm call is an insistent pip. In flight: Faint or no white wingbar and white outer tail feathers. Flight is rapid and low over the ground.
Not Threatened.
Adult: Summer/breeding-Bill black, yellow on mandible at the base; forehead white with black band separated from brown crown by narrow white border; breast band black. Winter/non-breeding-Black replaced by brown. Juvenile: Bill black; forehead tinged pale buff; edge to wings and back buff; breast band usually incomplete. Call: Mournful single long drawn out pe-ou, descending on the second note. Alarm call is an insistent pip. In flight: Faint or no white wingbar and white outer tail feathers. Flight is rapid and low over the ground.
Main features: Small (14-19cm); neck ring white unbroken; bill small (1-2cm); legs pinkish; bright yellow eye ring.
Taxonomy:
- Charadrius dubius Scopoli, 1786, Luzon. In past, birds of S Japan and China erroneously attributed to nominate race, and those of New Guinea region erroneously placed in jerdoni. Three subspecies recognized. (source: Handbook of the Birds of World)
Subspecies and Distribution:
- * curonicus Gmelin, 1789 - Eurasia, from British Is, N Africa and Canary Is to Russian Far East, Korea, E China and Japan; winters in Africa S of Sahara, Arabia, E China and Indonesia. * jerdoni (Legge, 1880) - India and SE Asia. * dubius Scopoli, 1786 - Philippines S to New Guinea and Bismarck Archipelago.
Their hunting style is a characteristic hesitant stop-run-peck, in a hunched position, usually higher up on the shore on drier sand or mud. They are often observed "foot-trembling", standing on one foot while rapidly vibrating the toes of the other foot on the surface. A few seconds later they run forward to peck at something. Probably, this vibration disturbs prey to betray their presence. Little Ringed Plovers prefer to forage on tidal mudflats, shallow flood pools, open short-grasslands or even bare soil. The wary Little Ringed Plovers often scatter to forage. They rarely join other waders in their mass flights or roosts. Usually territorial, they chase off other Little Ringed Plovers or small plovers from good feeding sites. Nevertheless, they may form small flocks of a dozen or so when moving and migrating. Their flight is rapid direct and low over the ground.
Little Ringed Plovers breed in temperate to low arctic Eurasia from the Atlantic to Japan, as well as in Africa, China, northern continental Asia, the Philippines and New Guinea. Little Ringed Plovers perform courtship display flights of butterfly-like movements, with the male endlessly circling with slow and deliberate wing-beats. Although courtship is noisy, when the pair finally nest, they become secretive. 3-4 eggs are laid and both parents incubate (22-28 days). Besides the parents, sometimes another bird (or even two) may help out with incubation, raising the young and even defending the territory. The nest is simply a shallow scrape, sometimes lined with plants or stones. These helpers may be male or female and are believed to be the offspring or former partners from the previous season. The chicks are highly active, running quickly on their long legs.