Little Ringed Plover

Overview

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.

INTERESTING FACTS

The Little Ringed Plover quickly colonizes new gravel pits, often while they are still being excavated.
A breeding pair is sometimes joined by a third bird, male or female, which readily takes part in incubation, care of the young and even defence of the territory.
A group of plovers has many collective nouns, including a "brace", "congregation", "deceit", "ponderance" and "wing" of plovers.

The Little Ringed Plover has a large range, estimated globally at 10,000,000 square kilometers. Native to Europe, Asia, and Africa and introduced to the United States this bird prefers forest, grassland, wetland, and marine ecosystems. The global population of this bird is estimated at 210,000 to 470,000 individuals and does not show signs of decline that would necessitate inclusion on the IUCN Red List. For this reason, the current evaluation status of the Little Ringed Plover is Least Concern.