Shorebirds, in general, have long legs for wading, short tails, and sharp pointed wings like falcons and other fast flyers. Sandpipers, with whom plovers often mix, are longer bodied with more slender bills that are either straight or curved. In mixed flocks feeding in sandy areas, it is possible to tell the plovers from the sandpipers by their different feeding behaviors. The plover runs a short distance, stops abruptly and then stands to tilt its body forward and snatch its food more from the surface, while the sandpiper runs and quickly probes. The bird patters its feet on loose sand or mud causing the small organisms on which it feeds to rise to the surface.
Coloration is definitely an indication of the bird's habits.
During the winter, all four plovers have the typical protective coloration of an animal that is preyed upon, that of a dark back and a light belly. In summer, however, the two black-bellied plovers change dramatically from this pattern, while the two ringed plovers maintain the same coloration. The ringed plovers remain on the beach terrain for feeding, nesting, and resting throughout the year. The dark-bellied plovers leave beaches to nest on the tundra. Here they must hide among lichens and mosses, and their plumage during the breeding season reflects the terrain they are using.