Species › Birds

Ringed Plover

Charadrius hiaticula

Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Charadriidae
Presence in the Strait: Seasonal
Abundance: abundant
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Chorlitejo grande

Marine taxonomy: validated in WoRMS, AphiaID 212619

Photograph: Вячеслав Юсупов, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 18–20 cm
Wingspan: 48–57 cm
Weight: 65 g

Presence in the Strait

Abundant coastal winter visitor (>600), summer visitors have also been noted.

Identification

Larger than Little Ringed Plover, with orange legs and bill base. Wing markings clearly seen in flight. Juveniles have brownish-grey instead of black areas and lack black band over forehead.

Movements

Peaks in 2nd hf. May and 2nd hf. September.

Ring recoveries

Sweden (13), Finland (8), Denmark (5), Germany (5), United Kingdom (3) and Belgium (2).

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

25 %

Peak in September. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 1 January 1950
Latest record: 5 March 2026

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: NE · Not evaluated · breeding — LC · Least concern · wintering or migrating
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Phenology compared

Monthly distribution in proportion, by decade. It shows whether the passage is getting earlier or later.

1990–1999

2000–2009

2010–2026

Proportions, not totals: observation effort grew faster than any population.

Where they come from

36 birds ringed in other countries and recovered in the area.

Sweden13
Finland8
Denmark5
Germany5
United Kingdom3
Belgium2

See the journey on the map

Same genus in the Strait

Kentish Plover15–17 cm · Resident
Common Little Ringed Plover14–15 cm · Resident
Eurasian Dotterel21–21 cm · Vagrant

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Charadriidae
GBIF taxon key: 9566659

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Вячеслав Юсупов, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Ringed Plover

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Ring recoveries

Gallery