Common Ringed Plover

Common Ringed Plover

Charadrius hiaticula

Silhouette: Alexandre Vong · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Tarangire National Park

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%

58 Verified sightings at Tarangire National Park From 2019 to 2026
8,326 In all 44 parks
November 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

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Common Ringed Plover in Tarangire National Park?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Common Ringed Plover sighting in Tarangire National Park on a given day, based on 58 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 220th most-seen of the 411 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Common Ringed Plover in Tarangire National Park?

January, March and September–November

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Ringed Plover in Tarangire National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, April–August and December, the lowest months.

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 Tarangire National Park the best place to see a Common Ringed Plover?

23rd of 44

Of the 44 parks where we can rate Common Ringed Plover sightings, Tarangire National Park ranks 23rd at under 5%. The best odds are in West Coast National Park (South Africa, about 50%), Wadden Sea National Park (Germany, about 30%) and Svalbard (Norway, about 30%). All parks ranked.

Which relatives of the Common Ringed Plover live in Tarangire National Park?

Same family: Charadriidae

The closest relatives of the Common Ringed Plover that you can see in Tarangire National Park (family Charadriidae, Plovers and Lapwings) are Blacksmith Lapwing (about 40%), Crowned Lapwing (about 40%) and Long-toed Lapwing (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

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 Tarangire National Park (58 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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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