Little Ringed Plover

Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius) is a small plover with a black-and-white head pattern, narrow breast band and bright yellow eye ring. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It nests on bare gravel beside fresh water and feeds by running and picking insects from exposed sediment. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).