Little ringed plover

The little ringed plover was formally described in 1786 as Chadrius dubius by the Austrian naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli. The specific dubius is Latin meaning "doubtful", "uncertain" or "dubious" since French naturalist Pierre Sonnerat in 1876 had thought this bird might be just a variant of the common ringed plover. The little ringed plover is now one of seven plovers placed in the genus Thinornis that was introduced in 1789 by Johann Friedrich Gmelin. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek this meaning "beach" or "sand" with ornis meaning "bird". Three subspecies are recognized: • T. d. curonicus (Gmelin, JF, 1789) – breeds Palearctic from Scandinavia southward to northern Africa, eastward across Russia to Sea of Okhotsk and Ussuriland, southward through Middle East and eastward to Japan and Taiwan; winters to Africa and southern Asia • T. d. jerdoni (Legge, WV, 1880) – India to southeastern Asia • T. d. dubius (Scopoli, GA, 1786) – Philippines to New Guinea and Bismarck Archipelago == Description ==

An adult little ringed plovers has a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly and a white breast with one black neckband. It has a brown cap, a white forehead, a black mask around the eyes with white above and a short dark bill. The legs are flesh-coloured and the toes are all webbed. This species differs from the larger common ringed plover (Charadrius hiaticula) in the head pattern, leg colour, and the presence of a clear yellow eye-ring. ==Gallery==

Flussregenpfeifer Charadrius dubius.jpg|Mating, the male bird hits the cloaca of the female bird Charadrius dubius curonicus MHNT.jpg|Egg of Charadrius dubius, MHNT Little ringed plover - chick.jpg|Little ringed plover chick Juvenile little ringed plover.jpg|A juvenile at Pulicat Lake, India File:Little ringed plover - Fulzar Dam, Jamnagar 2021-11-14.jpg|At Fulzar Dam, Jamnagar Little ringed plover (Charadrius dubius) in padma river.jpg|At Padma River, Bangladesh File:Little Ringed Plover AMSM6848 LRPL.jpg|Adult in breeding plumage at Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary, Gujarat, India Little ringed plover (Charadrius dubius) in flight Malta.jpg|In Malta Flussregenpfeifer im flachen Wasser 01.jpg|Near Roermond, Netherlands == Habitats and range ==

Their breeding habitat is open gravel areas near freshwater, including gravel pits, islands and river edges across the Palearctic including northwestern Africa. They nest on the ground on stones with little or no plant growth. Both males and females take turns incubating the eggs. They are migratory and winter in Africa. These birds forage for food on muddy areas, usually by sight. They eat insects and worms. == Conservation ==

The little ringed plover is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. It is listed as a least concern species by the IUCN. ==References==