Killdeer vs. Semipalmated Plover vs. Wilson’s Plover

Brown, white and black bird with small black bill, two black chest bands, white belly and pale pink legs stands on the shore — Killdeer

Brown black and white bird with white belly, small orange and black bill, black forehead, mask, and chestband, and orange legs stands in mud — Semipalmated Plover

Small brown black and white bill with a large black eye, black chest band, large bill for its size, and dull pink legs stands in sand — Wilson’s Plover

Wherever water meets land, you will find shorebirds running along the shore, busily searching for food, and raising young. But shorebirds can be very hard to tell apart! Here are three shorebirds that are hard to distinguish from one another. All three are brown and black with a bright white belly, similar stature, and a black chest band but here are some visual clues to tell them apart.

Visual Clue	Killdeer	Semipalmated Plover	Wilson’s Plover
Face and crown	Red eyering, black forehead, head less round than Semipalmated but more round than Wilson’s Plover	Blackish mask and forehead, very round head, cute!	Black forehead, head is more flat than round
Chest and front	Two complete black chest bands	One complete black chest band	One complete black chest band
Legs	Pinkish legs	Yellowy-orange legs	Dull pinkish legs
Bill	Black bill is thinnest of the three	Orange-and-black bill is smallest of the three	Black bill looks large for its size

Have you got all of that? Put these clues to the test with Bird Academy’s SnapID tool and practice distinguishing among these three shorebird species. You can replay the quiz as many times as you want. Each time you hit “Play Again,” you’ll have new photo matchups to practice on. Just click “Start SnapID Challenge” to get started!

Test Your Shorebird ID Skills

Image: Bryan Calk | Macaulay Library

Practice makes identification a snap.

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Interested in going further with the rewarding realm of shorebird identification? Check out our self-paced, online course Be a Better Birder: Shorebird Identification. In this course, you’ll explore ID strategies and species-specific video portraits for 47 shorebird species that regularly appear in the continental U.S. and Canada, then reinforce what you’ve learned with quizzes to help you along the way. Find out what this course has in store with a free sample lesson about the Spotted Sandpiper.