C. melodus chick on beach. It is sparrow sized and reaches approximately 7 - 8 inches in height.
Body color is a pale or sandy white.
It has a black breast band which can be either complete or incomplete, with a yellow bill and legs. Breeding birds show a prominent black collar and a black band that runs across the forehead. Unlike the piping plover, Wilson's plovers lack the transverse black line across its forehead. Inland, it breeds from central Canada through the Great Lakes region. This species overwinters in the southern United States from North Carolina south to Florida and along the Gulf of Mexico coast.