Stout shorebird with a black orange stumpy bill. Bird has a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband. Legs are orange. Brown cap, a white forehead, a black mask around the eyes. Bird forages for food on beaches, tidal flats, fields. It eats insects, crustaceans and worms. The common ringed plover is a migratory species; it winters in the coastal area of South Africa; in France and Great Britain many birds are resident throughout the year.

The common ringed plover’s breeding habitat is open ground on beaches. If a potential predator goes to the nest, the adult will walk away from the scrape. Calling to attract the intruder and feigning a broken wing. Once the intruder is far enough from the nest, the plover flies off. The species has a “least concern” conservation status. The bird depends on beach ground to proliferate.