cjimmy

The very first pic may be a lesser sand plover?

Very very nice shots by the way, especially those feeding shot, they are awesome~

cjimmy

I suggest you to post your first shot at the under the Bird ID thread since it has interesting leg's colour.
The relatively short bill and dark breast band suggested it may be lesser sand plover. But the yellow legs suggest it can be a greater sand plover too!

Your 3rd shot (in flight) is fantastic since it shows the difference between Greater and lesser in flight... Greater Sand plover has legs extended beyond tail while Lesser has it more or less equal to the tail.

cjimmy

[quote:3159a26b81="cgeoff"]All the sand plovers above are Greater Sand Plovers. The breeding plumage birds have extensive orangish colour on the crown, which Lesser does not show. The juvenile has a large thick bill.

Leg colour is variable, and should not be used to separate Lesser from Greater.

Geoff[/quote]

Thanks for pointing the keys out...
I was misled by the black breast band in the first pic,
the amount of orange on breast is another evidence for Greater...

What about the 3 pics where the birds are in flight? Can we tell Greater and Lesser apart from the extension of legs?

SOrry Thomas for misleading you~