Siberian Sand Plover

Identification

Small, compact, grey-brown and erect standing Plover.

Plumage

Non-breeding:   The upperparts  are a grey-brown, apart from the forehead and supercilium which are white, plus the lores and ear coverts which are a darker grey-brown.  The underparts are white with an incomplete grey-brown breast bar.  The black bill is about the length of the distance between the bill base and the rear of the eye with a slight bulge at the end.  The legs are olive-brown.
Breeding:  A strikingly different plumage to the non-breeding colouration.  The crown, nape, hindneck, sides of neck, mantle and scapulars brown leading to the breast, upper belly and flanks that are chestnut.  The chin and throat are white with a black line above that expands into a band that broadens through the eye, to the lores and over the forehead.  The forehead is white.  The underparts are white.
Juvenile:  Similar to the non-breeding plumage, though for a few months after fledging there is a buffish edge to the upperparts feathers.

Confusing Species

Greater Sand Plover:  Slightly larger and lighter, with seemingly longer “thighs”, and grey legs.  The bill is longer than the distance between the base of the bill and the rear of the eye and has a heavier look.  The chestnut breast of the breeding plumage is not as deep as the Lesser.
Double-banded Plover:  This bird has a finer bill, a more upright stance and is darker above.  There is a hint of the double band on the breast in some birds.  In the breeding plumage no mis-identification because of the double banding.
Red-capped Plover:  The Red-cap is smaller than the Sand Plovers and the chestnut cap is distinctive.

Monthly reports of Siberian Sand-Plover in Queensland

Monthly sightings

References

1. BirdLife Australia (2023). Lesser Sand Plover. [Text before updates sourced from: Marchant, S. et al (eds) 1990-2006 Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds.Volume 1 to 7.] Birdlife Australia. Birdlife Australia. Source: https://hanzab.birdlife.org.au/species/lesser-sand-plover/ Accessed: April 30, 2026 Time Zone: +10:00
2. Mlodinow, S. G. and P. F. D. Boesman (2025). Siberian Sand-Plover (Anarhynchus mongolus), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (N. D. Sly and M. G. Smith, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.lessap2.01.1
3. 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)
4. 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.
5. Geering, Andrew, Lindsay Agnew, and Sandra Harding, eds. Shorebirds of Australia. Csiro Publishing, 2007.
6. 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.
7. van Swinderen, L., Hansen, B.D., Fuller, R.A., Watkins, D., Rogers, D.I., Clemens, R.S., Newman, M., Woehler, E.J., Weller, D.R. and LeClair, S. (2025). Revision of the East Asian – Australasian Flyway Population Estimates for 37 listed Migratory Shorebird Species. Report for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. BirdLife Australia, Melbourne.
8. https://sproggies63.github.io/birding_apps/