The Return of the Hanuman Plover
THE HANUMAN PLOVER, a small whitish shorebird named after a Hindu god, has been reinstated as a distinct species after being lumped with the Kentish plover for almost a century. This remarkable discovery was made possible by DNA sequencing, which revealed subtle but significant differences between the two groups. The Hanuman plover (Charadrius seebohmi) lives in Sri Lanka and southern lndia, where it breeds on sandy beaches and salt pans. It was first described as a separate species in 1880 but was later merged with the Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) in the 1930s, as both species were considered to be too sim ilar to tell apart. However, recent advances in molecular techniques have allowed scientists to revisit the taxonomic status of the Hanuman plover and confirm that it is indeed a valid species.
https://www.internationalornithology.org/PDF/IOU_flutter_5-3.pdf
