The problem

Little Ringed Plover is such a familiar component of the British avifauna, at least in England, that it is easy to forget that like Collared Dove, Cetti’s Warbler and Little Egret, it is a relatively recent colonist, the first pair nesting in Hertfordshire in 1938. It is a summer visitor, with the first returning birds usually appearing in mid-March. By the third week of June, the first adults are already heading south and the first juveniles follow a month later. Passage peaks in August and virtually all have gone by the end of September.

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The solutions

In flight

Adults

The easiest way to separate summer adults is by bill and leg colour. Ringed Plover has a strikingly orange base to its stubby bill and has orange legs, whereas Little Ringed has a slim all-black bill and rather insipid greyish-pink legs. Ringed Plovers have predominantly black bills in winter, so beware of the occasional spring migrant that has not reached breeding condition.

As its name suggests, Little Ringed is the smaller of the two. Also, whereas Ringed is a rather podgy, rounded bird, Little Ringed is slimmer and shallower breasted, and has a rather distinctive elongated, tapering effect to its ‘rear end’. The black breast band of Little Ringed is narrower. Significantly, at closer range it shows a bright yellow orbital ring.

Summer adults of both species are easily sexed. When seen together, males are slightly but distinctly larger and bulkier than the females but, most obviously, the black markings on the head and breast really are jet black, creating a strikingly smart and contrasting impression. On females, these markings are a duller shade of black and the ear coverts in particular are largely brown.

Juveniles

Juvenile Little Ringed is a distinctly paler, buffer bird than juvenile Ringed and it is often hard to see against a muddy background. The distinctive size and shape differences are readily apparent, particularly when the two species are present side-by-side.

When faced with a juvenile ‘ringed plover’, concentrate on the head. Ringed has a well-patterned head with a sharply defined white forehead patch and a well-defined whitish supercilium, most prominent behind the eye. In contrast, juvenile Little Ringed has an obviously plain and hooded appearance. It lacks a supercilium and often shows a rich buff forehead that merges imperceptibly into the darker crown. As time goes by the forehead gradually becomes whiter but it still fades into the crown, so Little Ringed lacks the more sharply defined white forehead patch shown by juvenile Ringed.

Calls

Glossary

• Eye ring: a ring of white feathering surrounding the eye as shown by, for example, summer-plumaged Black-headed Gull.
• Orbital ring: a very narrow ring of flesh around the eye, as shown by, for example, Little Ringed Plover.