General Description: Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) are small shorebirds with short red legs. They are pale tan above (color of dry sand), white under, and have one broken bar across the white front (almost more of a bar on the shoulder). A white collar encircles the neck. During summer, the bar on the neck and shoulder is black, and there is a black stripe across the forehead. During winter, the bars fade, and the stripe disappears.

Taxonomy: Charadriiformes, Charadriidae, Charadriinae.

Favored Habitat: Sandy beaches, sand dunes, lake shores during summer. Sandy beaches and mudflats during winter.

Where to Find: Don't look for Piping Plovers around Las Vegas. Rather, look for them primarily on the northern East Coast during summer, and along the southern East Coast and Gulf Coast during winter.

Comments: Piping Plover are an Endangered Species.

If you were a tasty little sand flea, this might be the last face you ever see!