Small shorebird with a horizontal posture and a short neck. Breeding adults have a black crown stripe, a dark ear patch, and a black patch on the side of the neck. Pale sandy gray above and white below. Bill is black in all seasons.
Nonbreeding birds lack the dark crown stripe and have a paler neck stripe. Sandy gray above and white below with a black bill and gray legs.
Rests and forages on the higher parts of the beach with loose sand. Often hunkers down in depressions in the sand to rest.
Small shorebird with a horizontal posture and a short, black bill. The facial marks on nonbreeding birds are paler. Note gray legs.
Some breeding birds show a darker ear patch in addition to the black crown and neck stripe. The bill is dark in all seasons.
Breeds on sparsely vegetated sandy beaches and lake shores.
A small, plump shorebird with a large head, a short, slender bill, and short tail. It has medium-length legs for a shorebird.
Smaller than a Semipalmated Plover, larger than a Least Sandpiper.
between sparrow and robinSnowy Plover has two subspecies that are mostly similar. The western subspecies is slightly larger than the eastern subspecies, with larger black patches on the face.
Plovers and Lapwings(Order: Charadriiformes, Family: Charadriidae)
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