Grey Plover

Pluvialis squatarola (Linnaeus, 1758)

27–30 cmLength77 cmWingspan250 gWeight

In summer, its face, breast and belly are entirely black, its back and wings have black-and-white spots, and black armpits show in flight.

Busiest months: May and September–October · Most records: United States, Canada, United Kingdom

Vulnerable

How to identify

Field marks

Inner sides of the body and bases of the underwings black in flight
Summer plumage has a black face, neck, breast and belly bordered with white
Summer plumage has black-and-white spots on the back and wings
Winter plumage plain gray with a white belly

Male, female and young

Juvenile and first-winter plumages resemble adult winter plumage, but the back feathers are blacker with creamy-white edges.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: May and September–October · Most records: United States, Canada, United Kingdom

Grey Plover has been recorded at 2,660 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 184 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

To protect this bird from disturbance, we don't list exact sites.

Countries and regions with the most records

United States Canada United Kingdom China Spain Portugal Mexico Thailand

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The grey plover or black-bellied plover (Pluvialis squatarola) is a large plover breeding in Arctic regions. It is a long-distance migrant, with a nearly worldwide coastal distribution when not breeding.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Grey Plover?

The Grey Plover is about 27–30 cm long, with a wingspan of 77 cm and weighs around 250 g.

Where does the Grey Plover live?

Its breeding range: North America, Palearctic: high (locally low) Arctic coasts and islands (except Ellesmere Island, Greenland, Scandinavia and islands from Svalbard to Severnaya Zemlya). It is most often recorded in United States, Canada and United Kingdom.

When is the best time to see the Grey Plover?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in May, September and October (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Grey Plover endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Grey Plover as Vulnerable.

What does the Grey Plover eat?

Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.

What family is the Grey Plover in?

It belongs to the family Plovers (Charadriidae), order Charadriiformes.

At a glance

Length: 27–30 cm
Wingspan: 77 cm
Weight: 250 g
Habitat: Grassland
Diet: Fish, shrimp & shellfish
Lifestyle: Active on the ground
Migration: Migratory
Conservation: Vulnerable

More measurements

Wing: 184 mm
Tail: 71 mm
Bill: 32 mm
Tarsus: 44 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

North America, Palearctic: high (locally low) Arctic coasts and islands (except Ellesmere Island, Greenland, Scandinavia and islands from Svalbard to Severnaya Zemlya)

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2