Kentish plover

Description

The Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) is a small cosmopolitan shorebird (40-44 g) of the family Charadriidae that breeds on the shores of saline lakes,lagoons,and coasts,populating sand dunes,marshes,semi-arid desert,and tundra.Both male and female birds have pale plumages with a white underside,grey/brown back,dark legs and a dark bill,however additionally the male birds also exhibit very dark incomplete breast bands,and dark markings either side of their head,therefore the Kentish plover is regarded as sexually dimorphic.Until 2009,the Kentish plover species was universally thought to include the North American snowy plover species,however a novel genetic research paper suggested that they were in fact separate species.In July 2011,the International Ornithological Congress (IOC),and the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) pronounced the Snowy Plover as a separate species Charadrius nivosus.