Any one of several species of small plovers of the genus
Ægialitis, having a ring around the neck. The ring is black in summer, but becomes brown or gray in winter. The semipalmated plover (
Ægialitis semipalmata) and the piping plover (
Ægialitis meloda) are common North American species. Called also
ring plover, and
ring-necked plover. [
1913 Webster]