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ShareThis16 June 2010
There are three small migratory plovers from the northern hemisphere with a white hind-neck collar and a dark band across the breast that might pose identification problems in Australia:
- Little Ringed Plover
- Ringed Plover
- Semi-palmated Plover
Little Ringed Plover is now thought of as a rare but regular summer visitor to northern Australia: a dainty bird found on the margins of freshwater wetlands, with a cute face pattern and no wing-bar. Images of Little-ringed Plovers in Australia.
The Ringed Plover is more of a tidal flat bird, though it too will use freshwater wetlands: it’s a chunky little plover, with a short stubby yellow-based bill, bright yellow legs and a big wing bar in flight. It breeds right across Siberia to Europe, but most of them migrate to Africa. There have been quite a few records in Australia now, but they don’t turn up often and are considered genuine rarities.
Semi-palmated Plover hadn’t been recorded in Australia before 2010. It is the American counterpart of Ringed Plover and a notoriously difficult identification problem. For many years birders based their identifications on subtle characters: its higher-pitched flight call, the partial webbing between all front toes (only occurring between the middle and outer toes of Ringed Plover), and its slightly smaller wing-bar. An advance was made in the early 1990′s, when Killian Mullarney demonstrated a helpful difference in loral pattern. Juvenile Ringed Plovers have a broader loral stripe, with the lower edge meeting the junction of the bill mandibles; in juvenile Semi-palmateds the lower edge of the loral stripe curves up slightly, isolating a little white strip between between the lores and the upper margin of the gape. This principle helps in identification of breeding and non-breeding plumages too, and it was an important part of a reassessment of a controversial mystery plover in Miranda, New Zealand, in the 1980s. That bird, once thought to be a Ringed Plover, turned out to be a Semi-Palmated, heightening anticipation that we may get a Semi-P in Australia one day.
(Many thanks to Danny Rogers for his input into the creation of this identification feature).
Table of identification features
| Feature | Semi-Palmated Plover | Ringed Plover | Little Ringed Plover |
| Habitat | A bird of coasts and estuaries, though may be found at inland or freshwater habitats. | A bird of coasts and estuaries though may be found at inland or freshwater habitats. | Almost exclusively found in freshwater habitats, such as lakes, gravel pits and scrapes. Unlikely to occur in saltwater estuaries. |
| Loral pattern | Narrow dark loral stripe, lower margin running just above gape. | Broader loral stripe, lower margin meeting gape. | Not relevant. |
| Webbing | Partial web between middle and outer toe, tiny web between middle and inner. | No web between middle and inner, small partial web between middle and outer toe. | Not relevant. |
| Wing bar | Distinct wing bar. Slightly narrower than in Ringed Plover. | Broad distinct white wing bar. | Absent. |
| Yellow orbital ring | Present in all plumages, but very narrow in ad non-breeding and juvs, easily overlooked. | Absent – except in some full breeding plumage adult males. Therefore, unlikely to be seen in Australia. | Broad yellow orbital ring creates cute impression. |
Plates. Images of the three species.
 Plate 1a: Juvenile Little-ringed Plover showing the characteristic complete and bold yellow eye ring and yellow (not orange) legs that are defining features of this species. Photo by Péter Csonka (Wikimedia Commons) |
 Plate 1b: Adult Little Ringed Plover. This species inhabits freshwater environments such as scrapes, ponds and gravel pits. Photo by Alnus. Creative commons license. |
 Plate 2a: Juvenile Ringed Plover. Note the lack of narrow white stripe above the gape, thick darkish stripe between eye and bill and absence of pale orbital ring around the eye. Photo by Wojsyl. Create commons licence. |
 Plate 2b: Juvenile Ringed Plover. This bird has relatively narrow breast band and lacks distinct breast-side bulges that is often a feature. It is variation in features like this that make it difficult to separate from Semi-palmated Plover. This bird however, shows the absence of any webbing between the outer toes - which definitively tells it apart from Semi-palmated Plover. Photo by Wojsyl. Create commons licence. |
 Plate 2c: Adult Ringed Plover. Note the very thick breast band and distinct breast-side bulges (usually absent in Semi-Palmated Plover). The bill of this bird looks relatively short. Photo by Andreas Trepte. Creative commons licence. |
 Plate 2d: Juvenile Ringed Plover. Juveniles are particularly difficult to identify. This bird lacks many of the features needed to reliably separate Ringed Plover from Semi-palmated Plover. Even the shape of the bird, being small and roundish, is reminiscent of the latter. Photo by MPF. Creative commons licence. |
 Plate 3a: Juvenile Semi-palmated Plover. This bird has a smaller, shorter bill compared to Ringed Plover. The breast-side bulges in the collar are more distinct than most birds of this species. The bird is still too young to have attained any obvious eye ring but it does have the narrow white band across the top of the gape and narrow dark line between eye and bill, that seems to be one of the most important characteristics for this species. Photo by Alan Vernon. |
 Plate 3b: Semi-palmated Plover. The eye ring is distinct and only usually occurs on some adult male Ringed Plovers. The breast collar is quite narrow and lacks distinct breast-side bulges. The bill is short and the head rounded. Photo by Zimbres. Creative commons licence. |
 Plate 3c: The broome Semi-palmated Plover in juvenile plumage. Note the hint of narrow (though indistinct) white line above the bill gape. Unfortunately, the narrow dark line between eye and bill was only obvious on the bird's left side in this plumage, so difficult to confirm (see later stages Plate 3e). Photo by Geoff Jones, Barra Imaging. |
 Plate 3d: Adult Semi-palmated Plover showing the distinct orbital ring around the eye and narrow collar. In adult Ringed Plovers, this collar would normally be much wider, with distinct breast-side bulges. Photo by Donna Dewhurst, US Fish and Wildlife Service. |
 Plate 3e (left): Broome Semi-palmated Plover. The narrow line between eye and bill is apparent, as is webbing between middle and outer toe (Photo by Adrian Boyle). |
[...] Our identification guide to Little-ringed, Ringed and Semi-palmated Plovers [...]
The record of the Little Ringed Plover from Lake Connewarre in Victoria (1987-88) is from an estuarine area, so I’d take the habitat info above with a grain or (err) salt. The original article on this record (Smith, FTH 1989 Aust Bird Watcher 13: 30-31) clearly proves the ID as LRP of course.
Having stumbled on a colony of little plovers I am hoping you can help me identify them. I live at Semaphore Park in South Australia, and begin the day with a walk on the beach. Over the past several months I have been meeting up with this little “flock” of about ten little plovers. They inhabit a stretch of beach in front of Fort Glanville. They have to cope with human beings, dogs and horses, but seem quite untroubled by all the traffic. I suspect that they probably nest within the enclosed safety of the old fort. I have not been able to reach a definite identification, but believe them to be one of the three species you list. As they do not feel the need to fly, I have not been able to check their wings. If you already have a record of their presence, would you please tell me more about them. If this is the first you have heard of them, I will step up my efforts to identify them. Donald.
Hi Donald, there are a few small plovers that live in your part of the world. It would help if you describe the patterns of their plumage to help us narrow it down a bit for you, plus the colour of the bill and legs. Better yet, if you are able to get a photo send it to info@bird-o.com and we’ll be happy to take a look. You should have a look in a bird book at Greater Sand Plover and Lesser Sand Plover, as they are similar to the three birds in the article and can be very common in Australia. All the birds in the article are extremely rare here, with the Ringed and Semi-palmated Plovers only ever having been seen here a few times.