Piping Plover vs Spot-breasted Lapwing

Charadrius melodus compared with Vanellus melanocephalus

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Side-by-Side Comparison

Attribute Piping Plover Spot-breasted Lapwing
Scientific Name Charadrius melodus Vanellus melanocephalus
Order Charadriiformes Charadriiformes
Family Charadriidae Charadriidae
Conservation Status Near Threatened Least Concern
Length
Wingspan 23.1 cm (9.1 in) 46.9 cm (18.5 in)
Weight 53.4 g (1.88 oz) 213.5 g (7.53 oz)
Diet -- --
Clutch Size 4 4
Population Trend
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Habitat Comparison

Shared Habitats

Piping Plover only

None

Spot-breasted Lapwing only

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Conservation Status

Near Threatened

Piping Plover

Least Concern

Spot-breasted Lapwing

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About These Birds

Piping Plover

Piping Plover: 17–18 cm, pale sandy-gray plover with an incomplete breast-band, orange legs, and yellow-orange bill. Breeds on Atlantic beaches, Great Lakes shores, and Great Plains rivers of North America. Critically threatened by beach disturbance; listed as Near Threatened globally. Winters on Gulf and Atlantic coasts. NT.

Spot-breasted Lapwing

Spot-breasted Lapwing: 28–30 cm, Ethiopian highland endemic lapwing with a black head and breast spotted white, and red legs. Restricted to high-altitude moorland and montane grassland above 1,800 m in Ethiopia. Insectivorous. Sedentary; rare and little-studied. Declining due to overgrazing and agricultural encroachment.

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