Long-billed Plover
Thinornis placidus
长嘴剑鸻
Introduction
A wading bird in the family Charadriidae. Its taxonomic position places it in the order Charadriiformes, which includes shorebirds such as plovers, lapwings, dotterels, gulls, terns, sandpipers, and auks. The species is one of seven in the genus Thinornis. It breeds across western, northern, and central China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and far east Russia. During winter, it migrates south to eastern Nepal, northeast India, Indochina, southern China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Myanmar, Malaysia, and Thailand. The species inhabits river and stream shores, lakes with pebble substrates, wetlands, and rice fields. It forms monogamous pairs during breeding season and forages primarily on aquatic insects, insect larvae, and invertebrates. First described by J. E. Gray and G. R. Gray in 1863, with no recognized subspecies. The 2016 global population assessment classified it as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Description
A medium-sized plover measuring 19–20 centimeters in length and weighing 41–70 grams. The wing length averages 14–15 centimeters, tail length 7–8 centimeters, and the distinctive bill measures approximately 2 centimeters long. Both sexes have grayish brown upperparts with white underparts. The forehead displays a white patch with a black band extending across it from eye to eye, connecting to a black breast band below the throat. A yellow eye-ring is encircled by brown cheek feathers, with a white stripe running above the eye. Males in breeding plumage show wider and more distinct black bands on the forehead and breast, with darker feathering around the eyes and a more pronounced white eyestripe extending behind the eye. Juveniles resemble adults but lack the dark forehead band and have a narrower, less distinct breast band.
Identification
Often confused with the little-ringed plover due to overlapping ranges and similar appearance, but several distinguishing features exist. The long-billed plover is larger overall and has a noticeably longer, thicker bill. The little-ringed plover adult males have an additional solid black bar above the base of the bill, beyond the forehead band. Unlike the brown cheek feathers of the long-billed plover, the little-ringed plover has black feathers surrounding the eyes. The yellow eye-ring is much more prominent in the little-ringed plover. The breast band patterns also differ: the little-ringed plover's breast band is wider at the center than at the sides, while the long-billed plover's band maintains more uniform thickness throughout.
Distribution & Habitat
Widely distributed throughout South and East Asia, occurring across Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Russia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. However, it remains uncommon throughout its range and occurs in small numbers. Breeding grounds include northern and central China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, far east Russia, and western Arunachal Pradesh in India near the Himalayas. Populations in Japan's three main islands (Honshu, Shikoku, and Kiyushu) are largely resident year-round, while the Hokkaido population migrates south for winter. Wintering areas encompass eastern Nepal, northeast India, Indochina, southern China, South Korea, Japan's main islands, Taiwan, Myanmar, Malaysia, and Thailand. Preferred habitats consist of river and stream shores with small, round pebbles and rocks, nesting on temporary shingle islands or pebble spits between river branches. These nesting sites require at least 600 square meters in area, pebble sizes of 30–60 millimeters, protection from flooding, and surrounding vegetation of shrubs, willows, or young forests. Winter habitats include freshwater wetlands and rice fields, while sandy beaches, mudflats, and areas with large boulders are generally avoided.
Behavior & Ecology
Vocalizations vary by context: a rapid 'fi-fi-fi-fi-fi' call during breeding season territorial flights, a quiet 'gee gee' call when males display to rivals, a single rising 'pyuoo-' call when vigilant, and a 'pip-pip-pip' call when sheltering from threats. Diet consists primarily of aquatic insects and invertebrates including midges, dragonflies, beetle larvae, flies, earthworms, and likely small crustaceans such as mysid shrimp. Foraging occurs along shorelines where prey is captured with the long bill after rapid approach. Breeding begins late February or early March with males establishing territories and constructing multiple shallow nest depressions approximately 4 centimeters deep and 13 centimeters in diameter. Males attract females through courtship displays involving tail spreading. Females lay one egg every 48 hours until completing a clutch of four eggs, each measuring approximately 3.5 by 2.6 centimeters and weighing 10–13 grams. Both parents share incubation duties, with eggs hatching after approximately 29 days. Nest maintenance involves lining with pebbles, twigs, bark, and plant material. Hatchlings are precocial, gaining about 1 gram daily and achieving flight capability at 40 days old. Both parents provide care, protecting eggs from overheating on hot days and defending nests from predators through distraction displays and distress calls. Pairs show strong site fidelity, returning to the same breeding sites across multiple years.
Conservation
Classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List due to its wide distribution exceeding 20,000 square kilometers and large overall range. The global population is experiencing a gradual decline, though not at a rate sufficient to warrant vulnerable status, which would require a decline exceeding 30% over ten years or three generations. The primary conservation concern is ongoing loss and degradation of suitable breeding habitats. The species shows strong fidelity to specific breeding sites, making habitat protection and restoration critical for long-term survival. Recommended conservation actions include protection of existing breeding habitats and restoration projects that create artificial gravel banks and pebble islands to provide additional nesting habitat.
Culture
No cultural significance information available.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Taxonomy
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Charadriidae
- Genus
- Thinornis
- eBird Code
- lobplo1
Distribution
breeds riverine temperate eastern Asia from southeastern Siberia and Japan through eastern China, and disjunctly northeastern India; winters central Nepal eastward to Korean Peninsula and Taiwan, and southward to central Vietnam
Data Sources
Species description from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Bird images and sounds sourced from GBIF, contributed by citizen scientists worldwide under Creative Commons licenses.
Taxonomy data from AviList 2025.