Common Ringed Plover
Common Ringed PloverCommon Ringed PloverCommon Ringed PloverCommon Ringed Plover

Common Ringed Plover

Charadrius hiaticula

Silhouette: Alexandre Vong · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Madrid

In 3 days <5%

9 Verified sightings at Madrid
8,326 In all 44 parks From 2019 to 2026
March Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Common Ringed Plover

The common ringed plover, great ringed plover or ringed plover (Charadrius hiaticula) is a species of bird in the family Charadriidae. It breeds across much of northern Eurasia, as well as Greenland. The common ringed plover was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the current binomial name Charadrius hiaticula. Linnaeus specified the type locality as "Europa & America" but this is now restricted to Sweden. The specific epithet hiaticula is late Medieval Latin for a plover.

Three subspecies are recognised: Lawrence Island (north Bering Sea; erratic... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:09

Norway · 2026

© Mats Rellmar · XC1173212 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Flight call0:20

Sweden · 2025

© Lars Edenius · XC1033971 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Alarm call1:09

Finland · 2025

© Eetu Paljakka · XC1002342 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 West Coast National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~50%
2 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~30%
3 Svalbard 🇳🇴 Norway
~30%
4 Doñana National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~30%
5 Vatnajokull National Park 🇮🇸 Iceland
~30%
6 Lake Nakuru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%
7 Camargue 🇫🇷 France
~20%
8 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
9 Amboseli National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
10 Arusha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
11 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
12 Lake Manyara National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
13 Kiskunság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~10%
14 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
15 Snowdonia National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
16 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
17 Serengeti National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
18 Hortobágy National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~10%
19 Tsavo East National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
20 De Hoop Nature Reserve 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
21 Liwonde National Park 🇲🇼 Malawi
~10%
22 Nairobi National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
23 Tarangire National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
24 Addo Elephant National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
25 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
26 Białowieża National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
<5%
27 Fertő-Hanság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
<5%
28 Garden Route National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
29 Moremi Game Reserve 🇧🇼 Botswana
<5%
30 Samburu National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
31 Tsavo West National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
32 Table Mountain National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
33 Niokolo-Koba National Park 🇸🇳 Senegal
<5%
34 Yala National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
35 Cairngorms National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
<5%
36 South Luangwa National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
<5%
37 Kafue National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
<5%
38 Hwange National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
<5%
39 Etosha National Park 🇳🇦 Namibia
<5%
40 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
41 Chobe National Park 🇧🇼 Botswana
<5%
42 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
43 Biebrza National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
<5%
44 Monfragüe National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Zanzibar City 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~50%
2 Kuwait City 🇰🇼 Kuwait
~30%
3 Ouagadougou 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
~30%
4 Manama 🇧🇭 Bahrain
~20%
5 Liverpool 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~20%
6 Dar es-Salaam 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~20%
7 Casablanca 🇲🇦 Morocco
~20%
8 Maputo 🇲🇿 Mozambique
~20%
9 Mombasa 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%
10 Jeddah 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Dresden Zoo 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
2 Slimbridge Wetland Centre 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
3 Wildpark Schwarze Berge 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
4 Cologne Zoological Garden 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
5 Aachener Tierpark Euregiozoo 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
6 Cologne Zoo Aquarium 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity

Closest Relatives at Madrid

Northern Lapwing
NT

Northern Lapwing

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Vanellus vanellus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Lesser Black-backed Gull
LC

Lesser Black-backed Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Larus fuscus

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
Black-headed Gull

Black-headed Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
Ring-billed Gull
LC

Ring-billed Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Larus delawarensis

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
European Herring Gull
LC

European Herring Gull

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Larus argentatus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Common Sandpiper
LC

Common Sandpiper

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Actitis hypoleucos

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Yellow-legged Gull
LC

Yellow-legged Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Larus michahellis

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Common Snipe
LC

Common Snipe

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Gallinago gallinago

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Black-winged Stilt
LC

Black-winged Stilt

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Himantopus himantopus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Green Sandpiper
LC

Green Sandpiper

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Tringa ochropus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Little Gull
LC

Little Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Hydrocoloeus minutus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Jack Snipe
LC

Jack Snipe

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Lymnocryptes minimus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Common Ringed Plover in Madrid?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Common Ringed Plover sighting in Madrid on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 180th most-seen of the 196 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Common Ringed Plover in Madrid?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Common Ringed Plover in Madrid on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Common Ringed Plover?

Between noon and 3 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Ringed Plover sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Madrid the best place to see a Common Ringed Plover?

48th of 48

Of the 48 cities where we can rate Common Ringed Plover sightings, Madrid ranks 48th at under 5%. The best odds are in Zanzibar City (Tanzania, about 50%), Kuwait City (Kuwait, about 30%) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso, about 30%).

Where does the Common Ringed Plover sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Common Ringed Plover is recorded against all the birds logged in Madrid (9 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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