Description:

The Piping plover is a small compact robin-sized shorebird approximately 7¼” (18 cm) in length with a wing span measuring about 15” (38 cm) and a weight ranging from 1.5-2.2 oz (43-63 grams). It has a very short and stout bill, and very pale upperparts (the color of dry sand). The plover’s sand colored plumage provides an effective camouflage in its preferred beach habitat. During the breeding season the single narrow black band across the upper chest (sometimes incomplete), smaller black band across the forehead, orange-yellow legs and orange bill with a black tip are distinctive. Piping Plovers can also be recognized by their distinctive two-noted, “peep-lo”, melodious whistle.