Greater sand plover
Charadrius leschenaultii
Sega Black - Sea · Krasnodar Krai
Key facts in one look
- Size
- 19–22 cm; wingspan 53–60 cm; 75–100 g
- Diet
- Insects, crustaceans, worms, molluscs
- Status in Georgia
- Migrant, mainly in spring
- Habitat
- Semi-deserts; sea coasts in winter
- Family
- Charadriidae
- Conservation
- Global LC (2019); Georgia NE
The greater sand plover (Charadrius leschenaultii) is a chunky, long-legged plover with a thick, heavy bill. It breeds on the bare, dry plains of semi-deserts from Turkey to Central Asia and Mongolia, and winters on the sea coasts of Africa, South Asia and Australia. In Georgia it is a migrant. It is seen mainly in March–May, and has been found in Adjara, in the Chorokhi delta, and near Poti, at Maltakva. The summer male has an orange breast band and a black mask through the eye. It is not dangerous to people. It is very easily confused with the Tibetan sand plover, so look at the bill and legs.
Identification
Greater sand plover: how to identify it
A chunky plover, slightly larger than the common ringed plover, with conspicuously long legs and a thick bill. The legs are greenish-yellow and the bill black. In every plumage it is very like the Tibetan sand plover, so do not trust a single feature.
The breeding male has a sandy-buff back and white underparts. In summer the breast, forehead and nape are more or less orange, and a black mask runs through the eye. The female is duller and greyer.
Winter birds and juveniles are browner, with only a hint of rufous on the head. After the moult the breast band turns grey. The flight call is a soft, drawn-out trill.
It is slightly larger than the Tibetan sand plover, with a longer, heavier bill, longer legs and a more elongated, less rounded head. Its legs are paler, yellowish-green. But the southwest Asian subspecies has a relatively small bill, so a lone bird is often hard to identify.
Colour
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
Often confused with
It breeds in the semi-deserts of Asia, from Turkey, Syria and Jordan to the deserts of Central Asia, the Altai and Mongolia. In the Caucasus there are breeding reports from Armenia, in the steppes west of the upper Araks, and from eastern Azerbaijan. For nesting it chooses open, dry plains with clay soil, fine gravel and very sparse saltwort, sometimes up to 20 km from water. It winters on sandy, muddy and coral shores of tropical seas, from East Africa to Australia, and some birds on the Caspian coast. In Georgia it is a migrant. It has been seen in Adjara, on the seaward part of the Chorokhi delta, and near Poti, at Maltakva, where eight birds were counted together in April 2024. It has also been seen in the east: in Kvemo Kartli, near Gardabani, and in Tbilisi. Most sightings are from March–May, and in late summer it was recorded only once, in August 2023.
The greater sand plover map combines public iNaturalist observations. Regions are taken from the records-by-region table, and the status column separates regions with enough records from regions with too few records. Record counts reflect observation effort rather than population density. No region has enough records yet.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
- Field observation
- Photo record
- Region with records
In the breeding season it feeds mainly on land insects and their larvae: beetles, mosquitoes, ants and termites, and sometimes lizards. In its wintering areas it takes molluscs, crustaceans and worms. It hunts by running and stopping suddenly, picking prey from the surface rather than probing the mud steadily.
It is a strongly migratory bird. It starts breeding in April or May and spends the winter on southern sea coasts. It is wary: when a predator or a person comes close, it turns its back and its cryptic colours blend into the ground. The nest is a flat scrape in clay ground, in the open or among scattered tufts of grass, sparsely lined with stems and leaves. It lays 3 eggs, rarely 2 or 4. Both parents take turns on the eggs for at least 24 days, and both look after the chicks. The young fledge at about 30 days and become independent straight away.
Globally the greater sand plover is listed as Least Concern (LC, 2019). At the European scale it is considered Near Threatened (NT). The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies to it. In the 2021 assessment for the Red List of Georgia it was not evaluated (NE). The 2024 Georgian checklist lists it as a migrant.
Related guides
Continue with related pages
Yes, as a migrant. It is seen mainly in March–May. It has been found in Adjara, in the Chorokhi delta, and near Poti, at Maltakva. It has also been seen near Gardabani and in Tbilisi. Usually one to three birds are seen, but eight were counted at Maltakva in April 2024.
It is a chunky, long-legged plover, slightly larger than the common ringed plover, with a thick black bill and greenish-yellow legs. The summer male has an orange breast band and a black mask through the eye. In winter and as a juvenile it is brownish-grey, so then the bill and legs help you more.
It is slightly larger, with a longer and heavier bill, long pale legs and an elongated head. The voice differs too: its trill is softer and more drawn out. A lone bird is still hard to identify, so take a photo if you can.
It breeds on dry, gravelly plains in Asia, from Turkey to Mongolia, and in the Caucasus in Armenia and eastern Azerbaijan. It winters on tropical sea coasts, from East Africa to Australia. It passes through Georgia on migration.
In the breeding season mainly land insects: beetles, mosquitoes, ants and termites, and sometimes lizards. In winter, on the shore, it takes molluscs, crustaceans and worms. It hunts by running and stopping suddenly.
It is harmless to people. Globally it is listed as Least Concern (LC, 2019), and at the European scale it is considered Near Threatened (NT). In Georgia it has not been evaluated (NE). Do not flush birds resting on the shore.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
