The little ringed plover (Thinornis dubius) is a small plover of the family Charadriidae. 
The bird is native to the Old World and is a migratory species.

Identification:
- head pattern, 
- leg colour, 
- a clear yellow eye-ring.

Charadrius, Charadriidae or Charadriiformes comes from the Ancient Greek kharadrios, meaning a bird found in river valleys or ravines ((kharadra) being ravine), and was later adopted into Late Latin. The Latin word Thinornis described a yellowish bird mentioned in the Vulgate Bible.

The genus name Thinornis is derived from Ancient Greek: "this" or "thinos" meaning "beach" or "sand," combined with "ornis" meaning "bird". Therefore, Thinornis literally translates to "beach bird" or "sand bird". 

The specific dubius is Latin for doubtful, since Sonnerat, writing in 1776, thought this bird might be just a variant of common ringed plover.