Breeding adult © Terence Alexander eBird S66028806 Macaulay Library ML 217179611
Nonbreeding adult © Bernadett Kery
Juvenile © Kasia & Takashi Someya
Breeding adult © Nathan Wall
Nonbreeding adult © Hans Wohlmuth
+ 4
Nonbreeding adult © M Kelly
Nonbreeding adult © Steven McBride
Breeding adult © Ian Davies

Siberian Sand-Plover Anarhynchus mongolus

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Identification

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Medium-sized plover with a pale throat, brown back, and white belly. Breeding adults have a black mask, white forehead, and a bright orange chest and neck; males average brighter than females. Non-breeding and immature birds are brownish above and white below, with a variable white forehead and eyebrow. Compare with slightly larger Greater Sand-Plover; Siberian is proportionally smaller-headed and darker-legged, and its shorter bill has a slight bulge at the tip. Smaller Kentish Plover can be similar in non-breeding plumage; Siberian is taller and longer-legged, without Kentish’s strong white neck band. Very difficult to distinguish from Tibetan Sand-Plover, especially nonbreeding and immature birds, though identification can often be presumed by range. In breeding plumage, note the less extensive black mask of Siberian, usually with a white spot on the forehead. In nonbreeding plumage, look for a generally stronger breast band and faint brown markings on the flanks in Siberian. In areas of overlap many birds best left unidentified. Breeds mainly in Russian Far East; winters on coastal mudflats and beaches from Taiwan to Australia.

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