The female collared plover is usually very similar to the male, but some individuals can be sexed by a brown tinge to the black areas.

Immature birds lack any black on the head, and the breast band is replaced by brown patches on each side of the chest.

Collared plovers feed on insects and other invertebrates, which are obtained by a run-and-pause technique, rather than the steady probing of some other wader groups.

[2] The nest is a bare ground scrape well above the tide or flood line on coasts and river shores or islands, or inland, often next to low cover, such as tufts of grass.

[3] Like many ground-nesting species, adults perform a broken-wing display to lure presumed threats away from their nest and young.