Medium large. Long wings, neck and legs. Sexes similar.
Male: Breeding: Upperparts, greyish-brown. Tail, darker distally with white tip and white outer feathers. Eye, dark brown. Forehead, face, sides of neck, throat, white. Flight feathers, dark brown with no, or only a faint, wing bar. Breastband, chestnut bordered below by black. Belly, undertail coverts, white. Underwing, greyish-white. Bill, black. Legs, yellowish or pinkish-yellow. Non-breeding: Buff in face darker and breastband may be mottled greyish-brown and buff, black border absent.
Female: Breeding: Similar to male, but breastband greyish-brown and more buff in face. Eyebrow is more distinct. Non-breeding: Buff in face darker and breastband may be mottled greyish-brown and buff, black border absent.
Immatures: Similar to female non-breeding, but buff in face darker and breastband may be mottled greyish-brown and buff, black border absent.
Derivation
Cha-rad'-ri-us - Gk, charadrios, valley bird: ver-ë'-dus - L., fleet, fast running
Habitat
Usually inland, on open plains, bare, rolling countryside, ploughed fields, muddy or sandy wastes near inland swamps or tidal mudflats. Bare claypans. Margins of coastal marshes.
Australia, China (mainland), Christmas Island, Hong Kong (China), India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia (B), Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Russia (Asian), Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste (NB) (P), Vietnam.
Vagrant to Brunei Darussalam, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Greenland, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Palau, Seychelles, South Korea, Taiwan (China), Thailand, Vanuatu.
Southern Siberia (Tuvinskaya and southern Transbaikalia) through western, northern and eastern Mongolia to extreme north-eastern China (northern Inner Mongolia and north-western Manchuria). Winters from Greater Sundas to north-western and north-central Australia, sparsely in south.
Oriental Plover (Charadrius veredus) [XC493330]
by Nigel Jackett from Buir Nuur (SW),Khalkhgol, Dornod, Mongolia (flight call)
Oriental Plover (Charadrius veredus) [XC411921]
by id from NW of Dalanzadgad, Khankhongor, \u00d6mn\u00f6govi, Mongolia (call)
Subspecies
Sometimes placed in genus Eupoda. Formerly considered conspecific with Caspian Plover (Charadrius asiaticus). Probably best considered to form superspecies with Caspian Plover (Charadrius asiaticus), and possibly with Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus).
No subspecies.
Similar Species
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
Larger. Non-breeding with non-breeding. Upperparts, brownish grey with white tips and edges to feathers. Face, breast, white mottled or finely streaked with brownish grey. Underwing, white, with black axillaries. Legs, black.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet