The Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius) is a slender little "beach dwarf" marked by a distinct yellow eye-ring and an all-black bill, most often found at inland gravel and sand pits. It measures 14–17 cm with a wingspan of around 32–35 cm and a weight of 30–50 grams, showing a grey-brown back, white underside and a narrow black breast band. The face carries a black mask, and the most diagnostic feature is the clear yellow ring around the eye; the bill is entirely black and the legs pale pink to yellowish, and unlike some related plovers it shows no wing bar in flight. The contact call is a ringing, slightly falling "piu" or "pi-u", while the display flight brings a repeated, snappy "kri-kri-kri".
The species breeds throughout Sweden except on the alpine tundra, with a population of roughly 1,500–3,000 pairs. It originally nested on natural sand and gravel bars along lakes and rivers, but has benefited greatly from human-made habitats and is now commonly found in gravel pits and constructed ponds well inland. The nest is a shallow, largely unprotected scrape on open sand or gravel, where the female lays 4 eggs incubated by both parents for three to four weeks; the precocial young leave the nest soon after hatching, and when disturbed the adults often perform a distraction display, feigning a broken wing to lure predators away. It feeds on insects and other small animals picked from open ground, using short runs followed by pauses to peck at prey.
Read about this species in Swedish →