White-faced plover

The white-faced plover (Anarhynchus dealbatus) is a small shorebird predominantly found along the coastal shores of subtropical and tropical eastern Asia. Initially described by British ornithologist Robert Swinhoe, the bird resembles the east Asian subspecies of the Kentish plover (Anarhynchus a. nihonensis) with which it has been much confused

and sometimes considered to be a subspecies.

The white-faced plover grows to a length of about 17 cm (6.7 in). It has a rounded head with a white fore-crown and a white supercilium. The crown is pale rufous brown upper parts are pale brownish-grey. The hind collar, throat and underparts are white. The beak and legs are dark and the tail short. Compared to the rather similar Kentish plover, it has a thicker, blunter beak, white lores, paler crown and upperparts, less black on the lateral breast patches and a larger white wingbar.