Piping plover
Charadrius melodus
Identification Tips:
- Small shorebird
- Short, stubby bill
- Upperparts pale gray
- Underparts white
- White collar
- Orange legs
Adult alternate
- Thin black breast band
- Orange base to dark bill
- White forehead
- Black line from eye to eye across forehead
- Gray crown
Adult basic
- Breast band paler and not complete
- Dark bill
Juvenile
- Similar to adult in basic plumage
- Upperparts faintly fringed with white
Similar species:
The pale gray upperparts distinguish the Piping Plover from all other
small plovers except the Snowy Plover. The Snowy Plover has a different
face pattern in alternate plumage and dark legs and a longer, thinner bill
in basic and juvenile plumages.