Common ringed plover

Description

Adults are 17–19.5 cm (6.7–7.7 in) in length with a 35–41 cm (14–16 in) wingspan.They 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 and a short orange and black bill.The legs are orange and only the outer two toes are slightly webbed,unlike the slightly smaller but otherwise very similar semipalmated plover,which has all three toes slightly webbed,and also a marginally narrower breast band;it was in former times included in the present species.Juvenile ringed plovers are duller than the adults in colour,with an often incomplete grey-brown breast band,a dark bill and dull yellowish-grey legs.This species differs from the smaller little ringed plover in leg colour,the head pattern,and the lack of an obvious yellow eye-ring.