Black-bellied Plover
Black-bellied Plover
Pluvialis squatarola
At a Glance
This stocky plover breeds in high Arctic zones around the world, and winters on the coasts of six continents. Some can be seen along our beaches throughout the year (including non-breeding immatures through the summer). Although the Black-bellied Plover is quite plain in its non-breeding plumage, it adds much to the character of our shorelines with its haunting whistles, heard by day or night.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Plovers, Sandpiper-like Birds
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Coasts and Shorelines, Fields, Meadows, and Grasslands, Freshwater Wetlands, Saltwater Wetlands, Tundra and Boreal Habitats
Region
Alaska and The North, California, Eastern Canada, Florida, Great Lakes, Mid Atlantic, New England, Northwest, Plains, Rocky Mountains, Southeast, Southwest, Texas, Western Canada
Behavior
Direct Flight, Formation, Rapid Wingbeats, Running
Population
840.000
Range & Identification
Migration & Range Maps
Most migrate along coast or over sea, but numbers stop over regularly at some inland sites. Winter range remarkably extensive, from New England and southwestern Canada to southern South America, Africa, Australia. Females may tend to winter farther south than males. Most immatures apparently do not go to breeding grounds in summer; may remain through season on more southerly coasts.
Description
10-13" (25-33 cm). Short thick bill. Compare to golden-plovers. In winter, mottled back and chest (not smooth, like plovers). In flight, note black "wingpits," whitish rump and tail. Some sandpipers also short-billed and gray in winter (see Sanderling and Red Knot).
Size
About the size of a Crow, About the size of a Robin
Color
Black, Brown, Gray, White
Wing Shape
Long, Narrow, Pointed, Tapered
Tail Shape
Rounded, Short, Square-tipped
Songs and Calls
A clear whistled pee-a-wee.
Call Pattern
Flat, Rising
Call Type
Trill, Whistle
Habitat
Mudflats, open marshes, beaches; in summer, tundra. For nesting favors drier tundra, often more barren ridges above lowland lakes and rivers. Sometimes in lower wet tundra near coast. In winter mostly on open sand beaches, tidal flats. During migration will often stop in short-grass prairie or plowed fields.
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Behavior
Eggs
4, sometimes 3. Buff to gray-green, with darker blotches. Incubation is by both parents, 26-27 days.
Young
Downy young leave nest shortly after hatching, find all their own food. Both parents tend young at first, then female leaves before young are 2 weeks old. If predator threatens, adults may lure it away by putting on broken-wing act. Adults also mob predatory birds that come near nest area. Young are able to fly at 35-45 days; adult male may leave before young fledge.
Feeding Behavior
Typically they run a few steps and then pause, then run again, pecking at the ground whenever they spot something edible. Sometimes probes for hidden prey.
Diet
Insects, mollusks, crustaceans, marine worms. Diet on northern tundra is mostly insects, also some mollusks, and small amount of plant material. In coastal situations (where it spends most of year), eats many polychaete worms, also mollusks, crustaceans, some insects.
Nesting
Male displays on territory by flying with slow, deep wingbeats, giving clear whistled notes. Female may be attracted by this display. In courtship, male lands near female, runs stiffly toward her with head low. Nest site is on dry ground, often somewhat raised on ridge or hummock, with good visibility. Nest is a shallow scrape, lined with pebbles and bits of plant material; male begins scrape, female adds lining.
Conservation
Conservation Status
Population trends would be difficult to detect. No evidence of widespread change in numbers.
Climate Threats Facing the Black-bellied Plover
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.