Post by Nilo Arribas Jr. on Jan 17, 2012 15:42:25 GMT
Hi Everyone,
I had a good chat with a friend over coffee last night. A discussion on the difference between Greater and Lesser Sand Plovers have mutated into an interesting photo comparisons. I’m sure there is more to this and I’m sharing with the forum members the gist of the comparison hoping to draw further inputs from the experts and interested members.
Shorebirds particularly in winter plumage are tough to identify for me and it is often a struggle when presented with a single image of a bird. This maybe one of those instances where I feel comfortable doing the ID in the field where I would be able to discriminate species from a flock by relative sizes, movement and behavior aside from known diagnostic features.
Having said that, here are the ID reference we used for the Greater and Lesser Sand Plovers observed in Olango Island, Philippines:
Greater Sand Plover:
1. The length of the bill (from the base to tip) is almost the same as the imaginary diameter of the head.
2. The head slightly pointed towards the bill which gives the appearance of an acute angled head.
3. The upper curve portion of the bill towards the tip starts at around the middle of the bill.
Lesser Sand Plover:
1. The length of the bill from the base to the tip is about the same length as the imaginary radius of the head with the eye as base.
2. The head is rounded up to the base of the bill which gives the bird more rounded head
3. The upper curve portion of the bill towards the tip starts at around 2/3 the length from the base.
Note: There are other identifying features like relative sizes and colors that we can use to further separate Greater and Lesser Sand Plovers.
The following birds were identified based the above key features noted on the birds of Olango:
Greater Sand Plover (in partial breeding plumage):
Lesser Sand Plover:
We would like to solicit your thoughts and inputs on the ID of the birds below which exhibits features that may not exactly the same as the above reference photos. All bird photos were taken in Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary, Cebu, Philippines.
Your inputs and participation will be highly appreciated.
Photo #1
Photo #2
Photo #3
Photo #4
I had a good chat with a friend over coffee last night. A discussion on the difference between Greater and Lesser Sand Plovers have mutated into an interesting photo comparisons. I’m sure there is more to this and I’m sharing with the forum members the gist of the comparison hoping to draw further inputs from the experts and interested members.
Shorebirds particularly in winter plumage are tough to identify for me and it is often a struggle when presented with a single image of a bird. This maybe one of those instances where I feel comfortable doing the ID in the field where I would be able to discriminate species from a flock by relative sizes, movement and behavior aside from known diagnostic features.
Having said that, here are the ID reference we used for the Greater and Lesser Sand Plovers observed in Olango Island, Philippines:
Greater Sand Plover:
1. The length of the bill (from the base to tip) is almost the same as the imaginary diameter of the head.
2. The head slightly pointed towards the bill which gives the appearance of an acute angled head.
3. The upper curve portion of the bill towards the tip starts at around the middle of the bill.
Lesser Sand Plover:
1. The length of the bill from the base to the tip is about the same length as the imaginary radius of the head with the eye as base.
2. The head is rounded up to the base of the bill which gives the bird more rounded head
3. The upper curve portion of the bill towards the tip starts at around 2/3 the length from the base.
Note: There are other identifying features like relative sizes and colors that we can use to further separate Greater and Lesser Sand Plovers.
The following birds were identified based the above key features noted on the birds of Olango:
Greater Sand Plover (in partial breeding plumage):
Lesser Sand Plover:
We would like to solicit your thoughts and inputs on the ID of the birds below which exhibits features that may not exactly the same as the above reference photos. All bird photos were taken in Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary, Cebu, Philippines.
Your inputs and participation will be highly appreciated.
Photo #1
Photo #2
Photo #3
Photo #4