Common Ringed Plover
Charadrius hiaticula
IUCN status: Least concern
Identification
Similar to Little Ringed Plover but larger. Prominent white wing bar. Lacks yellow orbital ring. More yellow on base of bill in breeding plumage.
Confusing Species
Little Ringed Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Distribution
Distribution
Rare vagrant to Australia.
Migratory habits
Migrates south to coastal Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
Breeding
Breeds in northern Eurasia, North America, and Greenland.
Recent Sightings of Common Ringed Plover in Australia
| Location | State | Sighting period |
| Boonooroo | QLD | 13/08/1983 |
| Marlo | VIC | 22/01/2002 |
| Rottnest Island | WA | 11/11/2005 |
| Mandurah | WA | 4/02/2007 |
| Stockton Beach | NSW | 25/08/2017 |
| Western Port Bay | VIC | 13/11/1996 |
| Queenscliff | VIC | Jan 1981 to May 1981 |
| Little Eyre Island | SA | Mar 2020 to May 2020 |
References
- Geering, Andrew, Lindsay Agnew, and Sandra Harding, eds. Shorebirds of Australia. Csiro Publishing, 2007.
- eBird. 2021. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Available: http://www.ebird.org (Accessed: Date 12/4/2026)
- Rogers A, Fuller RA & Amano T (2023) Australia’s migratory shorebirds: Trends and prospects. Report to the National Environmental Science Program. University of Queensland, Brisbane.
- Driessen, J., Kidd, L. R., Weller, D. R., Purnell, C., Maguire, G., Jaensch, R., and LeClair, S. M. (2025). Australian National Directory of Important Migratory Shorebird Habitat. Report for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. BirdLife Australia, Melbourne.
- https://sproggies63.github.io/birding_apps/
- Wiersma, P., G. M. Kirwan, and P. F. D. Boesman (2020). Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.corplo.01