Clues towards the migration route for Greater and Lesser Sand Plovers spending the non-breeding season in Kenya

Abstract

The Lesser Sand Plover Charadrius mongolus and Greater Sand Plover C. leschenaultii both breed across central Asia and spend the non-breeding season in Africa, the Middle East, southern Asia and Australasia. Despite often being common and occurring in large numbers surprisingly little is known about their breeding and non-breeding distribution or migration routes, particularly for those migrating west to the Middle East and Africa. This paper presents new ringing recovery information relating to both species and suggests some possible options for their migration route between Kenya and their breeding grounds.