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Greater Sand-plover
Charadrius leschenaultii
21.3375, 92.0287
Field Notes
Description:
Small but chunky plover, abou 22 - 25 cm in length, fast moving and constantly bobbing up-and-down. Here, not in breeding attire, so very difficult to ID - like all plovers from Charadrius genus, the bird is brown above and white below. When it comes to two sand-plovers, it seems that one of the keys is the size of the bill (greater sand-plover has a heavier and longer bill, looking even disproportionate, than the Lesser sand-plover). The second key is the colour of the legs - greater sand-plover has a paler grey-green legs, while the Lesser one has darker ones. The literature mentions the third one too, that the Greater sand plover has a bit longer legs/tibias - but to be honest, I failed to notice that one...
The breeding plumage greatly facilitates it's identification - such is here, one of my previous spottings: https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/1634549230.
Habitat:
Observed foraging at the beach near Cox's Bazar. The beach in question is the part of That beach (longest sand beach of the world - 120 Km), and he place where I saw them is at the bottom of hills of Himchari National Park. That outing was the best and richest birdwatching (or, rather, nature-watching as I was not discriminating...) day during my stay ini Cox's.
Notes:
The available Checklists (no many of them looked complete) mentioned 6 various species of Charadrius occuring in Bangladesh, five of them common (Little ringed, Common ringed, Kentish, Lesser and Greater Sandplover), while the Long-billed plover is rare or accidental. Here, I must admit that, when in non-breeding plumage, and especially when seen separately, not in a mixed flock where the size becomes relevant, all Charadrius plovers look uncomfortably alike... They are small, brown above and cream-white below, and VERY fast moving; and they are a real nightmare to ID. So, I would like to thank my friend Srdjan Cuturilov, who always extend his experience and knowledge to help me get through these kind of puzzles, whenever I get stuck; and also to Sayam Chowdhury , a volunteer with e-Bird who provided a last-gate check-up of IDs...
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