Greater Sand Plover Charadrius leschenaultii

The Greater Sand Plover, also Greater Sandplover, breeds in Turkey, the Caucasus and Central Asia and winters in Africa and South Asia. Poor, distant photos left and centre above in breeding plumage in Kazakhstan by Elizabeth Barrett. Right above, wintering on a beach in Goa by Dr Harsha Vardhan Reddy.

The male develops a black face mask, golden crown and orange/rufous chest in breeding plumage (first photo, top row). Photos on the rest of the page (immediately above and below) are by Alexandra Makhnina, all taken in Kazakhstan.

They are a gregarious, flocking species. The Greater Sand Plover is difficult to tell apart from the Lesser Sand Plover in summer and winter plumage.