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2023-07-17T01:39:41Z

Created a captivating write-up.

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{{short description|Species of bird}}
{{Use dmy dates}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Charadrius mongolus - Laem Phak Bia.jpg
| image_caption = Laem Phak Bia, Ban Laem, Phetchaburi, Thailand
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Charadrius mongolus'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T22693855A93427510 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22693855A93427510.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| taxon = Charadrius mongolus
| authority = [[Peter Simon Pallas|Pallas]], 1776
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision =
* ''C. m. mongolus''
* ''C. m. stegmanni''
}}
[[File:Mongolian Plover95.ogv|thumb|250px|Scarborough, SE Queensland, Australia]]
[[File:Charadrius mongolus - Laem Pak Bia.jpg|thumb|250px]]
[[File:Lesser sand Plover AMSM5062 2 LSPL.jpg|thumb|250 px|In [[Jamnagar]], [[Gujarat]], [[India]]]]
[[File:Lesser Sand Plovers with Sanderling I2 IMG 9382.jpg|thumb|250 px| Lesser sand plovers with sanderlings in [[Chilika]], [[Odisha]], India]]

The '''Siberian sand plover''' or '''lesser sand plover''' ('''''Charadrius mongolus''''') is a small [[wader]] in the [[plover]] family of [[bird]]s. The spelling was commonly given as lesser sand-plover, but the official [[British Ornithologists' Union]] spelling is "lesser sand plover". The [[International Ornithologists' Union]] split the [[Tibetan sand plover]] from it and changed its vernacular name to "Siberian sand plover".<ref name=IOC>{{cite book|editor-last1=Gill |editor-first1=F |editor-first2=D |editor-last2=Donsker |editor-first3=P |editor-last3=Rasmussen |year=2023 |title=IOC World Bird List (v 13.2) |doi=10.14344/IOC.ML.13.2 |url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/}}</ref> The genus name ''Charadrius'' is a [[Late Latin]] word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century [[Vulgate]]. It derives from [[Ancient Greek]] ''kharadrios'' (χἄραδριός), a bird found in ravines and river valleys (''kharadra'', "ravine"); a [[curlew]] according to [[Liddell and Scott]]. The specific ''mongolus'' is [[Latin]] and refers to [[Mongolia]], which at the time of naming referred to a larger area than the present country.<ref name=job>{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher=Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n99 99], 259}}</ref>

==Taxonomy==
The Siberian sand plover and the [[Tibetan sand plover]] were previously considered conspecific, having five races in the species complex. A study published in 2022 proposed that both the "''mongolus''" and the "''atrifrons''" groups of the lesser sand plover are sister groups of the [[greater sand plover]]. Therefore a taxonomic split of the lesser sand plover was needed. The authors suggested new [[Binomial nomenclature|scientific]] and common English names for them.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wei |first=Chentao |last2=Schweizer |first2=Manuel |last3=Tomkovich |first3=Pavel S |last4=Arkhipov |first4=Vladimir Yu |last5=Romanov |first5=Michael |last6=Martinez |first6=Jonathan |last7=Lin |first7=Xin |last8=Halimubieke |first8=Naerhulan |last9=Que |first9=Pinjia |last10=Mu |first10=Tong |last11=Huang |first11=Qin |title=Genome-wide data reveal paraphyly in the sand plover complex ( Charadrius mongolus/leschenaultii ) |url=https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/doi/10.1093/ornithology/ukab085/6527443 |journal=Ornithology |language=en |volume=139 |issue=2 |pages=ukab085 |doi=10.1093/ornithology/ukab085 |issn=0004-8038|doi-access=free }}</ref> The large East Asian forms ''mongolus'' and ''stegmanni'' are currently defined as races of the Siberian sand plover, ''Charadrius mongolus''; and the [[Tibetan Plateau]] form is now known as the Tibetan sand plover, ''Charadrius atrifrons'', which includes the three races ''atrifrons'', ''pamirensis'' and ''schaeferi''.

* Siberian sand plover (''Charadrius mongolus''): ''C. m. mongolus'' and ''C. m. stegmanni''
* Tibetan sand plover (''Charadrius atrifrons''): ''C. a. atrifrons'', ''C. a. pamirensis'' and ''C. a. schaeferi''
* Desert sand plover (''Charadrius leschenaultii''), currently greater sand plover

[[International Ornithologists' Union|IOC]] accepted the split and renaming of the lesser sand plover in 2023, while the greater sand plover retains its common name.<ref name=IOC>{{cite book|editor-last1=Gill |editor-first1=F |editor-first2=D |editor-last2=Donsker |editor-first3=P |editor-last3=Rasmussen |year=2023 |title=IOC World Bird List (v 13.2) |doi=10.14344/IOC.ML.13.2 |url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/}}</ref>

==Distribution==
It breeds discontinuously across bare coastal plains in north-eastern [[Siberia]], with the Mongolian plover in the eastern part of the range; it has also bred in Alaska. It nests in a [[bird nest#Scrape|bare ground scrape]], laying three [[bird egg|eggs]]. This species is strongly [[bird migration|migratory]], wintering on sandy beaches in east and southeast Asia.<ref name=IOC>{{cite book|editor-last1=Gill |editor-first1=F |editor-first2=D |editor-last2=Donsker |editor-first3=P |editor-last3=Rasmussen |year=2023 |title=IOC World Bird List (v 13.2) |doi=10.14344/IOC.ML.13.2 |url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/}}</ref>

==Description==
This chunky plover is long-legged and long-billed. Breeding males have grey backs and white underparts. The breast, forehead and nape are chestnut, and there is a black eye mask. The [[sexual dimorphism|female is duller]], and winter and juvenile birds lack the chestnut, apart from a hint of [[rufous]] on the head. Legs are dark and the [[beak|bill]] black.

In all [[plumage]]s, this species is very similar to the [[greater sand plover]], ''Charadrius leschenaultii''. Separating the species may be straightforward in mixed wintering flocks on an Indian beach, where the difference in size and structure is obvious; it is more difficult to identify a lone vagrant to western Europe, where both species are very rare. The problem is compounded in that the Middle Eastern race of greater sand plover is the most similar to the lesser. The lesser usually has darker legs, a white forehead, and a more even white wing bar than the greater.

==Ecology==
The Siberian sand plover feeds on [[insect]]s, [[crustacean]]s and [[annelid]] worms, which are obtained by a run-and-pause technique, rather than the steady probing of some other wader groups. This species takes fewer steps and shorter pauses than the greater sand plover when feeding.

The flight call is a hard trill.

The Siberian sand plover is one of the species to which the [[Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds]] (AEWA) applies.

==Identification==
Size is one of the factors distinguishing a lesser sand plover from a [[greater sand plover]], with the lesser being slightly smaller. However, it is not easy to rely on size alone especially when seen individually. The length of the bill is another distinguishing feature, with the lesser generally having a shorter bill compared to a greater. The colour of the legs in a lesser sand plover is generally darker, ranging from black to grey, while in a greater sand plover it is much paler, ranging from grey to yellowish.{{needs update}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Taylor, P.B. (1987) Field identification of Greater and Lesser Sandplovers, pp. 15–20 in ''International Bird Identification: Proceedings of the 4th International Identification Meeting, Eilat, 1st - 8th November 1986'' International Birdwatching Centre Eilat

==External links==

{{Taxonbar|from=Q305255}}

[[Category:Charadrius|Siberian sand plover]]
[[Category:Birds of Asia]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1776|Siberian sand plover]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Peter Simon Pallas]]

Siberian sand plover - Revision history

Saumyasingh: Created a captivating write-up.