Scientific name: Charadrius hiaticula Linnaeus, 1758
Bird group: Waders
Field characters. 19 cm. A small, robust plover with a broad, black collar (wide over white chest and narrow on hindneck) and orange legs. Upperparts grey-brown, throat, sides of neck, hindneck, and patch on forehead white; black patches behind eye and on forecrown. Bill orange, tipped black; legs orange-yellow. Underparts white; tail-centre warm brown, white at sides and with a dark subterminal patch. In flight shows well-marked white wing-bar. Adult in winter has dark brown mask and breast-band; bill dark with yellow base to lower mandible. Juvenile lacks distinct black head and collar but has large white forehead, white line behind eye, and brown chest-ring.
Voice. Usual note is a melodious "tooyi" and a piping "queep"; song is a sort of trill based on the common note.
Distribution. Fairly common summer visitor in northern parts of Europe.
Habitat. In the breeding season, basically a bird of sandy and pebbly seashores; also exploits inland habitats such as estuaries, river lakes, tundra, gravel-beds, sand-bars, sandy heaths.
Food. Feeding method involves running, stopping, and pecking; may use also foot-trembling. Food consists of terrestrial and coastal invertebrates, such as beetles, polychaetes, amphipods, isopods, molluscs, or spiders.