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Piping Plover

Charadrius melodus

Classification

Class
Aves

The piping plover (Charadrius melodus) is a small, sand-colored shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange-red legs, a black band across the forehead from eye to eye, and a black stripe running along the breast line. This chest band is usually thicker in males during the breeding season, and it is the only reliable way to tell the sexes apart.

Distribution

(c) GobyHunter, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY
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Countries in the Picchu catalog
United States of America · 143,273Canada · 7,583Mexico · 973Cuba · 633United Kingdom · 256France · 38