This small shorebird moves along the sand by foot rather than flight.

It has a distinct black cap behind a white forehead, a dark line though the eye, and an incomplete black breast band. Males have darker and more distinct breeding plumage than females; both sexes loose coloration during late summer. It is the only shorebird that regularly breeds on Oregon's beaches.

East of the Cascades, the Western Snowy plover is a summer resident breeding on alkaline flats and salt pans. On the Oregon coast, this species is found year-round between Heceta Head and Cape Blanco.

Western snowy plovers are Oregon Conservation Strategy Species in the Coast Range, Northern Basin and Range and Nearshore ecoregions.

Hear the call of the Western snowy plover

Photo by ©Keith Kohl, ODFW