Little Ringed Plover
Thinornis dubius
Delicately built small plover with bright yellow eyerings. Note dull pinkish legs and large white forehead patch (in adults). Plumage much like bulkier Ringed Plover, but white eyebrow continues unbroken across forehead. In flight shows narrow, indistinct whitish wing stripe. Breeds on stony substrates around lakes, gravel pits, and along rivers; migrants occur in wide variety of fresh and brackish wetland habitats, but rarely out on open tidal areas. Clipped “peu” call quite distinct from call of similar Common Ringed Plover.
Identification
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.<p>This species differs from the larger ringed plover in leg colour, the head pattern, and the presence of a clear yellow eye-ring.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Thinornis dubius
- Authority
- Scopoli, 1786
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Charadriidae
- Genus
- Thinornis
Range and habitat
- Breeding range
- PAL, OR : widespread inland subarctic to tropical zones: Eurasia, Indian subcontinent, se Asia, Philippines, New Guinea and Bismarck Arch.
- Non-breeding range
- Sub-Saharan wc to ne, ec Africa; Middle East; s, se Asia and Indonesian Arch.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
The little ringed plover is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Whistler's Warbler
Phylloscopus whistleri
One of a confusingly similar complex of species, this medium-sized warbler has a bright yellow eye-ring, a pale and indistinct wingbar, and a grayish crown bordered by two long black stripes. The weakness and greenish cast of the gray crown separates this species from various other “golden-spectacled”-type warblers, such as Gray-crowned. Golden-spectacled Warbler is very similar; in Whistler’s, look out for an unbroken eye-ring, a shorter bill, a longer tail, and slightly duller green upperparts. Whistler’s breeds in high-altitude temperate broadleaf forest from around 2000 meters up to the treeline; averages higher in altitudinal breeding preferences than Golden-spectacled Warbler. Like other “golden-spectacled”-type warblers, Whistler’s typically forages at lower and middle levels of forest, often mixing with other species and making flycatching sallies. Song consists of a 2- or 3-noted whistled phrase repeated 2-3 times without pause, lacking the trills of Golden-spectacled Warbler.
Thick-billed Vireo
Vireo crassirostris
A small loquacious inhabitant of scrubland, thickets, and brushy forest edges where it typically feeds within dense cover. The similar White-eyed Vireo can be distinguished by its smaller bill, greener back, and bright yellow sides; furthermore, adults have white, not dusky, eyes. The Cuban Vireo lacks the Thick-billed Vireo’s bold wingbars. The song is a scratchy jumbled “chick, didderwid-weee-zhee, chip” or variations thereof. Calls include a “zhip” given singly or in short bursts, a drawn-out harsh “zzhhe,” and a variety of chattering sounds.
Gilt-edged Tanager
Tangara cyanoventris
Small and brightly colored tanager found in the canopy and subcanopy of montane forests and second growth. Usually in pairs or small groups and often accompanies mixed-species flocks. It has a bright unstreaked yellow head, a heavily streaked yellow back, and a black forehead and throat. It is blue below with green wings and tail. The call is a high-pitched “psii.”
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