Species › Birds

Kentish Plover

Charadrius alexandrinus

Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Charadriidae
Presence in the Strait: Resident
Abundance: common
Protection in Spain: Vulnerable (Canarias) · Spanish Catalogue
In Spanish: Chorlitejo patinegro

Marine taxonomy: validated in WoRMS, AphiaID 212611

Photograph: Jennifer Frey, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 15–17 cm
Wingspan: 42–58 cm
Weight: 50 g

Presence in the Strait

Common resident of beaches (100-120 pairs). Wintering birds >500.

Identification

Slightly larger than Little Ringed Plover, paler with a large head. Black legs, incomplete breast-band and clear wing-bar in flight. Females do not have black marks on head and breast. Juveliles are similar to females, but with pale fringes to upperparts, giving a scaled appearance.

Movements

Local birds are sedentary with juvenile dispersal and Northern birds migrate with peaks in 2nd hf. September and 1st hf. October. Less pronounced prenuptial migration from March to May.

Ring recoveries

Germany (6), Holland (2) and Spain (1). Charadriidae ad.W ad.E Chorlitejo Chico Chorlitejo Grande ad.E Chorlitejo Patinegro ad.W ad.E

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

23 %

Peak in September. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 24 April 1872
Latest record: 7 July 2026

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List) (Península y Baleares) · Vulnerable (Canarias)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: EN · Endangered · breeding — EN · Endangered · wintering or migrating
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Annex I of the Birds Directive

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Phenology compared

Monthly distribution in proportion, by decade. It shows whether the passage is getting earlier or later.

1990–1999

2000–2009

2010–2026

Proportions, not totals: observation effort grew faster than any population.

Where they come from

9 birds ringed in other countries and recovered in the area.

Germany6
Netherlands2
Spain1

See the journey on the map

Same genus in the Strait

Common Little Ringed Plover14–15 cm · Resident · overlapping size
Ringed Plover18–20 cm · Seasonal
Eurasian Dotterel21–21 cm · Vagrant

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Charadriidae
GBIF taxon key: 2480311

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Jennifer Frey, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Kentish Plover

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Ring recoveries

Gallery