The Tibetan Sandplover (Charadrius atrifrons) is a small, elegant shorebird belonging to the plover family. It breeds on the high-altitude plateaus of Tibet, Ladakh and surrounding Central Asian regions, nesting in open gravel plains and sparsely vegetated tundra. Outside the breeding season, it migrates southward to coastal mudflats, sandy shores and estuaries across South and Southeast Asia.

The species is characterised by its compact body, short bill and relatively long legs. Breeding adults show a distinctive black forecrown and mask, a warm rufous breast band and white underparts. In non-breeding plumage, they become much paler and more difficult to distinguish from other small plovers, with sandy-brown upperparts and plain faces.

Tibetan Sandplovers feed mainly on small invertebrates such as worms, molluscs and crustaceans, catching them by running and stopping in quick bursts along the shoreline. Their behaviour and habitat use closely resemble other sandplovers, but genetic and plumage studies confirmed them as a separate species from the formerly broad “Lesser Sand Plover” group.

It is very common all over Seberang Perai, with the largest concentration in the Teluk Air Tawar – Kuala Muda Coast IBA, with numbers of about 3-4,000 every season.