Examples of extension of the semipalmation in juvenile Semipalmated Plover. One of the very few shorebirds I photographed during this year's fall migration, but at least it was very cooperative! The bird was defending a feeding area close to where I was set up. The plate below depicts birds with minimal, moderate, and obvious semipalmations, respectively, from left to right. Semipalmated Plover by Evan Lipton | Macaulay Library, The Semipalmated Plover has been seen to swim short distances across small water channels during foraging while on migration. The bird was defending a feeding area close to … In Common Ringed, the increase in white on the feather tip from r1 outwards looks more gradual. Guillermo Rodríguez & Pablo Gutierrez. Semipalmated Plover is arguably one of the rarest shorebirds in Europe, although it has been suggested that its rarity is partly due to the challenge of separating it from Common Ringed Plover. In the compilation below I show some examples of the darkest end of the range of variation. Semipalmated Plover Juvenile. The size of the white tip, particularly in r2 and to a lesser extent in r3, is much smaller in Semipalmated, so that the total amount of white in the tail is less. General coloration: most records of Common Ringed Plover in the States highlight how pale they are above compared to Semipalmated. Roughly, the semipalmation between the middle and inner toes is very obvious in around 50-60% of birds. Download preview. Post originally published in Birding Frontiers. The key identification features for juveniles, such as the bill shape and the presence of white in the gape, are widely known and well described in several papers and field guides - so nothing new here - but I thought it would be interesting to take a detailed look at the variability of these characters for an identification refresher! Most Semipalmateds present a fine but obvious yellow orbital ring, which usually looks bright in direct sunlight. Again, the eyering, red patch at the base of the bill and breast band are quite typical. It’s time to take a closer look at a few examples of birds in which some of the features are (at least partially) missing: Bird 1. At times i was cursing myself for selling the 300mm as these little guys were getting so close and i had no extension tubes to stack on my 500mm. Bird 3. It was the lone bird on the beach, and I was the lone person there, so it was a fun solo session with this active plover. The semipalmated plover is a small plover. This was a juvenile COMMON RINGED PLOVER. On its breeding grounds in the north, it avoids the tundra habitat chosen by most shorebirds, nesting instead on gravel bars along rivers or ponds. (CRPL) The juvenile Semipalmated Plovers (SEPL) in comparison were like little wind up toys with cute little rounded heads, like teenage plovers not fully developed physically . In the second case, the dark cheek patch approaches the bill at an angle, whereas in Common Ringed it tends to look more horizontal. Semipalmation: contrary to what the literature usually states, I find this character quite variable and perhaps even overlapping somewhat with Common Ringed - or at least, in some birds the difference cannot be assessed in field conditions. Nevertheless, in many birds it doesn't look noticeably different from Common Ringed at a distance, and a few individuals show bills that would be quite typical for Common Ringed. Therefore, I'd say that the combination of white gape, consistent eyering and stout bill applies to the vast majority of birds, and it’s very rare that the three characters are lacking on the same individual. Variability of the orbital ring colour in juvenile Semipalmated Plover. This is a bird with a very long bill, limited white in gape and bulky structure. Keep in mind that these are all juveniles! Let's start with a couple of classic juvenile Semipalmated Plovers to illustrate the typical features. In both species the innermost pair of rectrices is dark and the outermost is white, with increasingly large white tips from r2 to r5. This is one of the most Common Ringed-like Semipalmated Plovers I've seen; the size and shape of the bill, pronounced and blackish breast band, and apparently dark gape are all quite reminiscent of Common Ringed, and likewise, the eyering is likely within the species’ range of variation. Birds with truly dark gapes are quite rare and they might represent around 1% of the total (see below for an example). This was a juvenile COMMON RINGED PLOVER. However, the dark gape, lack of yellow eyering, and the blackish, broken and less dense/diffusely barred breast band easily clinch the ID. Breast band: this is another highly variable character, as shown below, with many birds showing a very fine band or simply a narrow line in the middle of the breast, and others showing an unbroken broad band of uniform width or even a band with two deep rounded patches on each side of the breast, similar to Common Ringed. Royalty-Free Stock Photo. The reduced and dirty white on the gape, all black bill and Common Ringed-like breast band make this individual slightly confusing, but the presence of the eyering and the bill shape are quite diagnostic. On average there is a difference, but the overlap seems to be considerable (especially with some Common Ringed that showing short bars). Juvenile Semipalmated Plover. This small shorebird breeds in open gravel, tundra, beaches, and riverbeds throughout the sub-arctic regions of North America (Nol and Blanken 1999). Bottom right shows a Common Ringed Plover. Juvenile Semipalmated Plover. This small shorebird breeds in open gravel, tundra, beaches, and riverbeds throughout the sub-arctic regions of North America (Nol and Blanken 1999). Bird 2. In many Common Ringed, the feather tips in the band show some whitish fringes, leading to a kind of diffuse pale barring, and the dark-white transition at the centre of the breast (where the band is broken) is more diffuse. Juvenile Common Ringed Plover, September 2015, Spain. Feeds on mudflats and beaches, often mixed with other shorebirds. These are likely the most “difficult” birds I've seen during the 2016 autumn migration in the States, out of several hundred birds studied. But with other individuals, I have had a hard time finding the semipalmation even when observing from only a few meters away, since they show just a minute piece of skin, very similar to the hint of semipalmation that some Common Ringed show. Breeding adult Small shorebird with a … Thanks for taking the time! Guillermo Rodríguez. This is one of the most Common Ringed-like Semipalmated Plovers I've seen; the size and shape of the bill, pronounced and blackish breast band, and apparently dark gape are all quite reminiscent of Common Ringed, and likewise, the eyering is likely within the species’ range of variation. Typically the difference is found on the inner primaries, where the bar is narrower in Semipalmated. However, this feature is usually unnecessary, as pretty much every time you see the bird spread its tail it has also called! For more pictures of juvenile Semipalmated Plovers, please visit the special ID Gallery here. Even when in a flock, individuals are typically spread out rather than remaining in a tight unit. Juvenile Semipalmated Plover. The oldest recorded Semipalmated Plover was at least 9 years, 2 months old when it was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in Massachusetts. It derives from Ancient Greek kharadrios a bird found in ravines and river valleys. Orbital ring: this is another feature which is quite consistent and shows limited overlap with Common Ringed. Semipalmated Plover. Check out, for comparison, these juvenile Common Ringed Plovers from Spain: Juvenile Common Ringed Plover, September, Spain. A small dark shorebird with a single band across its chest, the Semipalmated Plover is the most common plover seen on migration in most areas. The number of birds in which the eyering looks dirty or darkish (and thus similar to the brightest eyerings of Common Ringed) is low. Tail pattern in juvenile Semipalmated Plover. I don't find Semipalmated strikingly dark, so perhaps the difference is only obvious with side-by-side comparisons, or it could be due to plumage variability of Greenland birds (supposedly the ones that reach the States). Typically there are two main facial patterns: one in which the dark cheek patch merges with the dark lore line, forming a sharp angle; and the other in which the cheek patch directly touches the bill, but only the upper mandible, forming a small vertical white band surrounding the gape. The proportion of birds with an orangish to reddish patch at the bill base is very high, c.90%, and in many birds the patch extends to the bottom of the upper mandible. Instead of shape, I'd highlight two different aspects of the breast band: (I) the colour, which is always brownish in Semipalmated, and is often concolorous with the back, only rarely showing the really blackish tones that are common in Common Ringed; and (II) the “density”, as in Semipalmated the band is uniformly densely coloured and the dark-white transition is sharp, creating a well-defined band contour. Juvenile Semipalmated Plover, October 2016, Massachusetts. The Semipalmated Plover has been seen to swim short distances across small water channels during foraging while on migration.