Greater Sand-Plover
Why in News?
The Greater Sand-Plover (Anarhynchus leschenaultii) is in the news because a rare specimen of this migratory coastal shorebird was officially spotted and documented at Chandu village in Gurugram, Haryana, on July 11, 2026.
Taxonomy and Scientific Background
- Scientific Name: It is classified under the name Anarhynchus leschenaultii (formerly Charadrius leschenaultii).
- Family: It belongs to the Charadriidae family, encompassing small to medium-sized wading shorebirds.
- Complex Distinction: Genetic and mitochondrial profiling identifies it as a distinct sister taxon to the mongolus subspecies group of the Lesser Sand-Plover.
Distinct Physical Features
- Bill Structure: It features a noticeably long, heavy, and hefty black bill which serves as its primary distinction from smaller plovers.
- Breeding Plumage: Breeding adults present a distinct dark eye mask accompanied by a striking orangish-chestnut chest, neck, and forehead.
- Non-Breeding Plumage: During winter migration, they turn sandy brown on their upper bodies and white underneath, retaining a white throat and pale "eyebrows".
- Throat Border: Unlike variations of the Lesser Sand-Plover, the Greater Sand-Plover never possesses a black border enclosing its white throat.
- Proportions: Typically measures 22 to 25 cm in length with a wingspan ranging from 53 to 60 cm, resting on noticeably pale, long legs.
Habitat and Global Distribution
- Breeding Grounds: It breeds primarily during April and May in the high-altitude, arid semi-deserts of Central Asia, extending from Turkey through Jordan, southern Siberia, Mongolia, and northern China.
- Wintering Migration: It undergoes long-distance seasonal migration to winter on the tropical sandy beaches, coastal mudflats, and marine estuaries of East Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australasia.
- Inland Vagrancy: While heavily dependent on saline shorelines, individual birds occasionally deviate inland as vagrants, using historical clearings, open wetlands, or old rural airstrips to rest and forage.
Behaviour, Diet and Conservation Status
- Social Instincts: It is a highly gregarious bird that forms coordinated, active flocks to feed, fly, and roost together alongside other wader species.
- Feeding Habits: Forages primarily using a run-and-pause visual technique to hunt for coastal invertebrates, marine worms, small crustaceans, and insects.
- Vocalizations: A relatively vocal species that communicates across open mudflats using a distinctive loud trill and soft, piping distress notes.
- IUCN Red List: Categorized under "Least Concern" (LC), meaning it does not face an immediate global threat of extinction.
- Threat Profiles: Despite a stable global status, localized numbers are facing steady declines due to rapid habitat degradation, coastal reclamation, and urban encroachment on natural wetlands.
