Plovers - Oman Masirah (1 Viewer)

[Butty]

Terminology issue? - for there is the question of what 'vent' means. It is certainly not 'the area behind the legs', as this would mean it comprised c. 40% of the underbody of the birds pictured. Vent is a rather small area centred on the cloaca and lying immediately ahead of the undertail-coverts; the much larger area lying between that and the legs is the lower belly.

 

[smiths]

Lower belly then, or actually: rear flank, instead of vent. Anyway, the point is that the whole area of underparts behind the legs is unmarked white in juv. Grey plover.