The
Grey Plover (
Pluvialis squatarola), known as the
Black-bellied Plover in
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
, is a medium-sized
ploverPlovers are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. They are known to dive in lakes looking for fish. There are about 40 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel"...
breeding in
arcticThe Arctic is the region around the Earth's North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. The Arctic includes the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Greenland , Russia, the United States , Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland.The word Arctic comes from the Greek αρκτικός , "near...
regions. It is a long-distance
migrantBird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. These however are usually irregular or in only one direction and are termed variously as nomadism, invasions,...
, with a nearly worldwide
coastThe coast is defined as where the land meets the sea. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the process of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
al distribution when not breeding.
They are 27–30 cm long with a wingspan of 71–83 cm, and a weight of 190–280 g (up to 345 g in preparation for migration). In spring and summer (late April or May to August), the adults are spotted black and white on the back and wings.
The
Grey Plover (
Pluvialis squatarola), known as the
Black-bellied Plover in
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
, is a medium-sized
ploverPlovers are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. They are known to dive in lakes looking for fish. There are about 40 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel"...
breeding in
arcticThe Arctic is the region around the Earth's North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. The Arctic includes the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Greenland , Russia, the United States , Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland.The word Arctic comes from the Greek αρκτικός , "near...
regions. It is a long-distance
migrantBird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. These however are usually irregular or in only one direction and are termed variously as nomadism, invasions,...
, with a nearly worldwide
coastThe coast is defined as where the land meets the sea. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the process of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
al distribution when not breeding.
They are 27–30 cm long with a wingspan of 71–83 cm, and a weight of 190–280 g (up to 345 g in preparation for migration). In spring and summer (late April or May to August), the adults are spotted black and white on the back and wings. The face and neck are black with a white border; they have a black breast and a white rump. The tail is white with black barring. The bill and legs are black. They moult to winter plumage in mid August to early September and retain this until April; this being a fairly plain grey above, with a grey-speckled breast and white belly. The juvenile and first-winter plumages, held by young birds from fledging until about one year old, are similar to the adult winter plumage but with the back feathers blacker with creamy white edging. In all plumages, the inner flanks and axillary feathers at the base of the underwing are black, a feature which readily distinguishes it from the other three
Pluvialis Pluvialis is a genus of plovers, a group of wading birds. There are four species which breed in the temperate or Arctic Northern Hemisphere.In breeding plumage, they all have largely black underparts, and golden or silvery upperparts...
species in flight. On the ground, it can also be told from the other
Pluvialis species by its larger (24–34 mm), heavier bill. In spring and summer mating season comes and the adults' bellies of this species turn black whether the bird is stiil in its wintering place on a sub-tropical beach observed on Sanibel Island, Florida, because it does not want to migrate, or in its breeding grounds up in the arctic of northern Canada and Alaska.
Their breeding habitat is
ArcticThe Arctic is the region around the Earth's North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. The Arctic includes the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Greenland , Russia, the United States , Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland.The word Arctic comes from the Greek αρκτικός , "near...
islands and coastal areas across the northern coasts of
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. They nest on the ground in a dry open
tundraIn physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes from Kildin Sami tūndâr, which means "uplands, treeless mountain tract." There are two types of tundra: Arctic tundra and alpine tundra...
with good visibility; the nest is a shallow gravel scrape. Four eggs (sometimes only three) are laid in early June, with an incubation period of 26–27 days; the chicks fledge when 35–45 days old.
They migrate to winter in coastal areas nearly throughout the world. In the
New WorldThe New World is one of the names used for the non-Afro-Eurasian parts of the Earth, specifically the Americas and possibly Australia. When the term originated in the late 15th century, the Americas were new to the Europeans, who previously thought of the world as consisting only of Europe, Asia,...
they winter from southwest
British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada.The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, the 15th largest metropolitan region in Canada...
and
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its population of...
south to
ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
and
ChileChile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, in the western
Old WorldThe Old World consists of those parts of Earth known to Europeans, Asians, and Africans in the 15th century.-Regions:The Old World includes Europe, Asia, and Africa , plus surrounding islands...
from
BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
and southwestern
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
south throughout coastal Africa to
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
, and in the eastern Old World, from southern
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
south throughout coastal southern Asia and
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
, with a few reaching
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
. It makes regular non-stop transcontinental flights over Asia, Europe, and North America, but is mostly a rare vagrant on the ground in the interior of continents, only landing occasionally if forced down by severe weather, or to feed on the coast-like shores of very large
lakeA lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all. Another definition is, a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size that is surrounded by land...
s such as the
Great LakesThe Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth. They are sometimes referred to as the "Third...
, where it is a common passage migrant.
Young birds do not breed until two years old; they typically remain on the wintering grounds until their second summer.
They forage for food on beaches and
tidalTides are the rises and falls of sea level caused by the combined effect of rotation of the Earth and the gravitation of the Moon and the Sun. The tides occur with a period of approximately 12 and a half hours and are influenced by the shape of the near-shore bottom.Most coastal areas experience...
flats, usually by sight. The food consists of small
molluscsMolluscs
[Spelled mollusk in the USA, see reasons given in Rosenberg's ; for the spelling "mollusc" see the reasons given by .] are animals belonging to the phylum Mollusca. There are around 93,000 recognized extant species, making it the largest marine phylum with about 23% of...
,
polychaete wormsThe Polychaeta or polychaetes are a class of annelid worms, generally marine. Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are made of chitin. Indeed, polychaetes are sometimes referred to as bristle worms. More than 10,000...
,
crustaceanCrustaceans are a very large group of arthropods, comprising almost 52,000 described species , and are usually treated as a subphylum . They include various familiar animals, such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles...
s, and
insectInsects are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include more than a million species that are already described. Insects represent more than half of all...
s. It is less gregarious than the other
Pluvialis species, not forming dense feeding flocks, instead feeding widely dispersed over beaches, with birds well spaced apart. They will however form dense flocks on high tide roosts.
The Grey Plover is one of the species to which the
Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (
AEWAThe Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds is the largest of its kind developed so far under the Bonn Convention...
) applies.
External links