Greater Sandplover or "lesser", Sharm, Egypt, 14-12-23 (1 Viewer)

[Earnest lad]

Please may I request help.
Before 14th December I had never seen any Sandplover ever. I had to chance to see some though: I was aware the id can be challenging. I believe Greater is common here, but there might also be lesser present. (Tibetan s-p)
Please may I request help with a bird photographed : I didn't see the flight pattern, but I "think" it is Greater Sandplover due to (1) some black on the tail (2) the size of the bill. However I am confused by the colour of the legs.
If anyone with more experience than myself would be so kind as to comment on this and confirm for me this is the species please; I would be very grateful.

 

[Muppit17]

Large bill & horizontal stance suggest Greater. Not sure Lesser has been reported there.

 

[Earnest lad]

Large bill & horizontal stance suggest Greater. Not sure Lesser has been reported there.

Thank you so much. I believe some lesser were on ebird

 

[johnallcock]

Large bill & horizontal stance suggest Greater. Not sure Lesser has been reported there.

Head pattern is also better for Greater - dark lores, dark mask, short supercilium.

 

[01101001]

Have a look at the video below, esp. towards the end:

EDIT: (also at the other two clips in that thread)

 

[njlarsen]

Frontal view or at least more side on would have been more informative ...

 

[Bubbs]

Guessing at poor quality photos is just that. Until a good quality photo or video is obtained then just keep on guessing!

 

[Earnest lad]

Large bill & horizontal stance suggest Greater. Not sure Lesser has been reported there.

Thank you. I too am not sure of the status of Lesser there. I think it might be a possibility.

 

[Earnest lad]

Guessing at poor quality photos is just that. Until a good quality photo or video is obtained then just keep on guessing!

Thats a good point. I have some other photos of sandplovers and will post some to see if it is possible to come up with a conclusive id. These sandplovers are so hard aren't they.

 

[Earnest lad]

Frontal view or at least more side on would have been more informative ...

I will leave this one as inconclusive. I took other pics of different individuals and will try later with those too.

 

[Earnest lad]

Have a look at the video below, esp. towards the end:


EDIT: (also at the other two clips in that thread)

Thank you so much for the link to the video. The comparison at the end is especially helpful. I have taken a screen grab for future use.

 

[Earnest lad]

Head pattern is also better for Greater - dark lores, dark mask, short supercilium.

Those details are helpful - I must study these sandplovers as it is quite hard

 

[njlarsen]

Be aware that lesser now is either Siberian or Tibetan .,...
Niels

 

[Earnest lad]

Be aware that lesser now is either Siberian or Tibetan .,...
Niels

Yes, thank you.
I have looked it up and it appears the viable alternatives for the Red Sea area are
Greater Sandplover Charadrius leschenaultii (ssp. columbinus)
Tibetan Sandplover Charadrius atrifrons (ssp pamirensis)

 

[MJB]

Yes, thank you.
I have looked it up and it appears the viable alternatives for the Red Sea area are
Greater Sandplover Charadrius leschenaultii (ssp. columbinus)
Tibetan Sandplover Charadrius atrifrons (ssp pamirensis)

Bear in mind that columbinus, the smallest subspecies of Greater Sandplover Anarhynchus leschenaulti, has for decades been confused with A. a. atrifrons, nominate Siberian Sandplover to the extent that many earlier records in that general area have been expunged because the descriptions were inadequate for certainty to be expressed.
MJB

 

[01101001]

A. a. atrifrons, nominate Siberian Sandplover

 

[njlarsen]

Bear in mind that columbinus, the smallest subspecies of Greater Sandplover Anarhynchus leschenaulti, has for decades been confused with A. a. atrifrons, nominate Siberian Sandplover to the extent that many earlier records in that general area have been expunged because the descriptions were inadequate for certainty to be expressed.
MJB

Notice that atrifrons is Tibetan, not Siberian
Niels

 

[Butty]

Staying with greater and lesser will do me just fine 👍🏻

 

[Earnest lad]

Bear in mind that columbinus, the smallest subspecies of Greater Sandplover Anarhynchus leschenaulti, has for decades been confused with A. a. atrifrons, nominate Siberian Sandplover to the extent that many earlier records in that general area have been expunged because the descriptions were inadequate for certainty to be expressed.
MJB

I think the birds I were seeing and photographing (lots of them) must have been columbinus but because columbinus is a small variant of GSP, the bill size doesnt help really in distinguishing from a possible Tibetan SP. It seems very hard. The bill size seems to be "in between" Greater and Tibetan- eg with the attached photo.

 

[johnallcock]

I think the bill is still useful for separation. This bird (and the one in your first post) has a large, long bill with a sharp tip, unlike the bill of Tibetan but consistent with columbinus. And as I mentioned in my earlier comment, the head pattern also fits for Greater - Tibetan has a longer, more obvious supercilium, more extensive white on the forehead and often paler lores.

Compare your bird against these Tibetan:

ML611683310 - Tibetan Sand-Plover - Macaulay Library

Macaulay Library ML611683310; © Gojko Kukobat; Muscat, Oman

macaulaylibrary.org

ML612407473 - Tibetan Sand-Plover - Macaulay Library

Macaulay Library ML612407473; © Jacques Erard; A'Sharqiyah South, Oman

macaulaylibrary.org

ML610996929 - Tibetan Sand-Plover - Macaulay Library

Macaulay Library ML610996929; © Mike Pearson; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

macaulaylibrary.org