Plovers
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Plovers are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. There are about 40 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel". The closely related lapwing subfamily, Vanellinae, comprises another 20-odd species.
Plovers are found throughout the world, and are characterised by relatively short bills. They hunt by sight, rather than by feel as longer-billed waders like snipe do.
They feed mainly on insects, worms or other invertebrates, depending on habitat, which are obtained by a run-and-pause technique, rather than the steady probing of some other wader groups.
Species List
- Eurasian Golden Plover, Pluvialis apricaria
- Pacific Golden Plover, Pluvialis fulva
- American Golden Plover, Pluvialis dominica - the American and Pacific Golden Plovers were formerly considered conspecific (as "Lesser Golden Plover"; Sangster et al., 2002)
- Grey Plover or Black-bellied Plover, Pluvialis squatarola
- New Zealand Dotterel or Red-breasted Plover, Charadrius obscurus
- Ringed Plover, Charadrius hiaticula
- Semipalmated Plover, Charadrius semipalmatus
Long-billed Plover, Charadrius placidus : Found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
- Little Ringed Plover, Charadrius dubius
- Wilson's Plover, Charadrius wilsonia
- Killdeer, Charadrius vociferus
- Piping Plover, Charadrius melodus
- Black-banded Plover, Charadrius thoracicus : The Black-banded or Madagascar Plover (Charadrius thoracicus) is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, sandy shores, intertidal marshes, and coastal saline lagoons.
- Kittlitz's Plover, Charadrius pecuarius
- St. Helena Plover, Charadrius sanctaehelenae
- Three-banded Plover, Charadrius tricollaris
- Forbes' Plover, Charadrius forbesi
- Kentish Plover or Snowy Plover, Charadrius alexandrinus
- Javan Plover, Charadrius (alexandrinus) javanicus : The Javan Plover is endemic to Indonesia. Its natural habitats are sandy shores and intertidal flats. It is threatened by habitat loss.
- White-fronted Plover, Charadrius marginatus
- Red-capped Plover, Charadrius ruficapillus
- Malaysian Plover, Charadrius peronii
Chestnut-banded Plover, Charadrius pallidus : Found in Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Rarer than previously believed, it is uplisted from a species of Least Concern to Near Threatened in the 2007 IUCN Red List.[1] - Collared Plover, Charadrius collaris
- Puna Plover, Charadrius alticola : Found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. Its natural habitats are freshwater lakes and saline marshes.
- Double-banded Plover, Charadrius bicinctus
- Two-banded Plover, Charadrius falklandicus : Found in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Uruguay. Its natural habitats are freshwater lakes, saline marshes, rocky shores, and sandy shores.
- Lesser Sand Plover, Charadrius mongolus
- Greater Sand Plover, Charadrius leschenaultii
- Caspian Plover, Charadrius asiaticus
- Oriental Plover, Charadrius veredus
- Eurasian Dotterel, Charadrius morinellus
- Rufous-chested Dotterel, Charadrius modestus : Found in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Falkland Islands, Peru, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Uruguay. Its natural habitats are temperate grassland and sandy shores.
- Mountain Plover, Charadrius montanus
- Hooded Plover, Charadrius rubricollis : Endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, and coastal saline lagoons. It is threatened by habitat loss.
- Shore Plover, Thinornis novaeseelandiae : The Shore Plover is a small species (20 cm in length, 60g)[1] of Plover endemic to New Zealand. Its Māori name is Tuturuatu. The Shore Plover is an endangered species with a world population of around 200 birds. It once was found across the South Island in New Zealand but became extinct there, probably due to introduced cats and rats. It survived on one island, Rangatira, in the Chatham Islands, from where it has been introduced to other offshore islands in the Chathams (Mangere Island) and near the North Island. Further releases are planned around New Zealand.
- Black-fronted Dotterel, Elseyornis melanops
- Inland Dotterel, Peltohyas australis
Wrybill, Anarhynchus frontalis : The Wrybill or Ngutuparore (Māori) Anarhynchus frontalis is a species of plover endemic to New Zealand. It is unique in that it is the only species of bird in the world with a beak that is bent sideways (almost always to the right).[2] It lays its eggs among the rocks along rivers and distracts intruders by pretending to be in distress and moving away from its "nest".
- Diademed Plover, Phegornis mitchellii : The Diademed Sandpiper-plover is a species of bird in the Charadriidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Phegornis. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland and swamps.
- Tawny-throated Dotterel, Oreopholus ruficollis : The Tawny-throated Dotterel is a species of bird in the Charadriidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Oreopholus. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Falkland Islands, Peru, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Uruguay. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, temperate grassland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, and pastureland.
Many of the Charadrius species are characterised by breast bands or collars. These can be (in the adult) complete bands (Ringed, Semipalmated, Little Ringed, Long-billed), double or triple bands (Killdeer, Three-banded, Forbes', Two-banded, Double-banded) or partial collars (Kentish, Piping, Malaysian, Javan, Red-capped, Puna)
Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org
Related Websites: Charadriidae Plovers (Montereybay) ... Plover Clipart
- Black-bellied Plovers (Pluvialis squatarola): USGS
- Golden Plovers: Golden Plover (Drawing & Info - Birds of Britain
- Mongolian Plovers (Charadrius mongolus): USGS
- Snowy Plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus): Snowy Plover - (Charadrius alexandrinus) Eldon R. Caldwell - Imperial Valley College ... Audubon WatchList ... Snowy Plover (Don Baccus) ... USGS
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