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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JANJ" data-source="post: 1583799" data-attributes="member: 20722">I don´t know how many hours I´ve spent looking at the Virginia sand plover, and failed over and over again to be able to come to a conclusion. A mission impossible if not sharp images are provided!Interesting with sand plover bills, apart from species and racial differences - the different impression from the same individual in different images, like in this swedish Greater:1. <a href="http://www.pbase.com/slisch/image/99611704" target="_blank">http://www.pbase.com/slisch/image/99611704</a>2. <a href="http://www.pbase.com/slisch/image/99432546" target="_blank">http://www.pbase.com/slisch/image/99432546</a>3. <a href="http://www.pbase.com/image/99629916" target="_blank">http://www.pbase.com/image/99629916</a>Also the nail lengt - which seems to be a rather consistent feature in sand plovers - is difficult to judge from images in unsharp images, in birds with mud on there bills etc.No doubt in the swedish bird which part of the bill is the longest. Which leads me to the image of the Virginia sand plover linked in Killian's first set, on which he has measured the bill-length - bill to eye ratio. In that image the lenght of the bill is approx. the same as the lenght from the bill base to behind the eye, which in favour of Lesser. Furthermore, the nail lengt seems to be shorter than the basal part of the bill, also in favour of Lesser.What about this one then?<a href="http://www.pbase.com/ingotkfr/image/92920248" target="_blank">http://www.pbase.com/ingotkfr/image/92920248</a>JanJ</blockquote>

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