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David Albeck's Photos of Charadriiformes

Animalia > Aves > Charadriiformes

A group including sandpipers, plovers, oystercatchers, gulls, and terns. A bit of a surprise to me, with not much to unite the group anatomically. Many species live on the coast, but not all.

Charadriiformes: Family Index

Click a thumbnail to skip to photos of the bird family indicated

Charadriidae:

Laridae:

Scolopacidae:

Sternidae:

Click a thumbnail to see a full-size photo. Click the label below the thumbnail to see the original gallery for each photo.

Plovers (Charadriidae)

Animalia > Aves > Charadriiformes > Charadriidae

Family Charadriidae includes plovers and lapwings. They have short bills, and feed by sight in quick pecks, rather than probing blindly the way most sandpipers do.

European Golden Plover
Pluvialis apricaria

Skagavegur

European Golden Plover (juv.)
Pluvialis apricaria

Skagavegur

Pacific Golden Plover
Pluvialis fulva

Golden Plover

Piping Plover
Charadrius melodus

Cape Cod

Piping Plover
Charadrius melodus

Beach Wildlife

Killdeer

Mt Feake

Oystercatchers (Haematopodidae)

Animalia > Aves > Charadriiformes > Haematopodidae

Colorful shorebirds, often specializing in hard-to-open shellfish. The family name means "blood-red foot".

American oystercatcher
Haematopus palliatus

Paracas

Gulls and Terns (Laridae)

Animalia > Aves > Charadriiformes > Laridae

Coastal fish-eating birds with webbed feet. Gulls tend to be larger than terns. Some gulls live nearly 50 years, and take three or four years to reach maturity. Many gulls indiscriminate eaters. Gull species are often hard to tell apart, with variable coloration, plumage that changes with maturity, and frequent hybridization.

Ring-Billed Gull
Larus delawarensis

Merritt Island

Ring-Billed Gull
Larus delawarensis

Cape Cod

Ring-Billed Gull
(first winter)
Larus delawarensis

Mostly Ducks

Ring-Billed Gull,
Larus delawarensis

Cape Cod

Ring-Billed Gull,
Larus delawarensis

mostly ducks

Ring-Billed Gull,
Larus delawarensis

More Winter Birds

Herring Gull
(adult breeding plumage)
Larus argentatus

Cape Cod

Herring Gull
(adult breeding plumage)
Larus argentatus

River Wildlife

Herring Gull
(Adult breeding plumage)
Larus argentatus

Brittany

Herring Gull
(adult non-breeding plumage)
Larus argentatus

(no album)

Herring Gull (immature)

(no album)

Great Black-Backed Gull,
(adult)
Larus marinus

Cape Cod

Great Black-Backed Gull
(1st year)
Larus marinus

Cape Cod

Laughing Gull
(non-breeding plumage)
Leucophaeus atricilla

Merritt Island

Laughing Gull
(breeding plumage)
Leucophaeus atricilla

Cape Cod

Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)

Animalia > Aves > Charadriiformes > Scolopacidae

Wading birds which specialize in probing mud or sand with their beaks. Compared to plovers, they are usually longer-billed. This family includes sanderlings, willets, curlews, godwits, dowitchers, snipe, woodcocks, and others.

Ruddy Turnstone
Arenaria interpres