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Grey plover
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{{Short description|Species of bird}} {{Speciesbox | name = Grey plover | status = VU | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2024 |title=''Pluvialis squatarola'' |volume=2024 |page=e.T22693749A254375039 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T22693749A254375039.en |access-date=28 October 2024}}</ref> | image = Breeding plumage Black-bellied plover (Pluvialis squatarola) Great Bay Wildlife Management Area, New Jersey, USA.png | image_caption = Adult in breeding plumage in the Great Bay WMA, NJ. | genus = Pluvialis | species = squatarola | authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]) | range_map = Pluvialis squatarola map.svg | range_map_caption = Geographical distribution of Grey Plover. {{legend|#FF7F2A|Breeding}}{{legend|#FFDD55|Migration}}{{legend|#5F8DD3|Nonbreeding}} | synonyms = ''Tringa squatarola'' {{small|Linnaeus, 1758}} }} [[File:BBPlover Scarborough Marsh.png|thumb|Black-Bellied Plover in non-breeding plumage in Scarborough Marsh, ME]] The '''grey plover''' or '''black-bellied plover''' ('''''Pluvialis squatarola''''') is a large [[plover]] breeding in [[Arctic]] regions. It is a long-distance [[bird migration|migrant]], with a nearly worldwide [[coast]]al distribution when not breeding.<ref name=hayman/> ==Taxonomy== The grey plover was [[Species description|formally described]] by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1758 in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|tenth edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' under the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Tringa squatarola''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title= Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume=1 | edition=10th | page=149 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | location=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727056 }}</ref> It is now placed with three other plovers in the [[genus]] ''[[Pluvialis]]'' that was introduced by the French ornithologist [[Mathurin Jacques Brisson]] in 1760.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Brisson | first=Mathurin Jacques | author-link=Mathurin Jacques Brisson | year=1760 | title=Ornithologie, ou, Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Variétés | language=French, Latin | at=[https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36010444 Vol. 1, p. 46], [https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36294254 Vol. 5, p. 42] | place=Paris | publisher=Jean-Baptiste Bauche }}</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=July 2021 | title=Sandpipers, snipes, coursers | work=IOC World Bird List Version 11.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/sandpipers/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=20 November 2021 }}</ref> The genus name is [[Latin]] and means relating to rain, from ''pluvia'', "rain". It was believed that they flocked when rain was imminent. The species name ''squatarola'' is a [[Latin]]ised version of ''Sgatarola'', a Venetian name for some kind of plover.<ref name=job>{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher=Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n311 311], [https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n363 363]}}</ref> The English [[common name]] used for this species differs in different parts of the world. It is generally known as "grey plover" in the [[Old World]] and "black-bellied plover" in the [[New World]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Poole |first1=A. F. |last2=Pyle |first2=P. |last3=Patten |first3=M. A. |last4=Paulson |first4=D. R. |title=Black Bellied Plover |url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/bkbplo |website=Birds of the World |publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology |access-date=23 September 2020}}</ref> Three [[subspecies]] are recognised:<ref name=ioc/> * ''P. s. squatarola'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – breeds in north Eurasia and Alaska; non-breeding in west, south Europe, Africa, south, east Asia and Australasia and west Americas * ''P. s. tomkovichi'' Engelmoer & Roselaar, 1998 – breeds on [[Wrangel Island]] (northeast Siberia) * ''P. s. cynosurae'' (Thayer & [[Outram Bangs|Bangs]], 1914) – breeds north Canada; non-breeding along coastal North and South America ==Description== The grey plover is {{convert|27|–|30|cm|in|abbr=on}} long with a wingspan of {{convert|71|–|83|cm|abbr=on}} and a weight of {{convert|190|–|280|g|oz|abbr=on}} (up to {{convert|345|g|oz|abbr=on}} in preparation for migration). In spring and summer (late April or May to August), 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 belly 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]]'' species in flight. On the ground, it can also be told from the other ''Pluvialis'' species by its larger ({{convert|24|–|34|mm|in|abbr=on|disp=comma}}), heavier bill.<ref name=hayman/><ref name=bwpc/> ==Breeding and migration== Their breeding habitat is [[Arctic]] islands and coastal areas across the northern coasts of [[Alaska]], [[Canada]], and [[Russia]]. They nest on the ground in a dry open [[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.<ref name=hayman/><ref name=bwpc/> They migrate to winter in coastal areas throughout the world. In the [[New World]] they winter from southwest [[British Columbia]] and [[Massachusetts]] south to [[Argentina]] and [[Chile]], in the western [[Old World]] from [[Ireland]] and southwestern [[Norway]] south throughout coastal Africa to [[South Africa]], and in the eastern Old World, from southern [[Japan]] south throughout coastal southern Asia and [[Australia]], with a few reaching [[New Zealand]]. Most of the migrants to Australia are female. 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 [[lake]]s such as the [[Great Lakes]], where it is a common passage migrant.<ref name=hayman/><ref name=bwpc/><ref name=ng/> ==Behaviour and ecology== ===Breeding=== Young birds do not breed until two years old; they typically remain on the wintering grounds until their second summer.<ref name=hayman/><ref name=bwpc/> ===Food and feeding=== They forage for food on beaches and [[tide|tidal]] flats, usually by sight. The food consists of small [[mollusca|molluscs]], [[polychaete|polychaete worms]], [[crustacean]]s, and [[insect]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Black-bellied Plover Life History |url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-bellied_Plover/lifehistory |access-date=2024-04-21 |website=All about birds |language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref name=hayman/><ref name=bwpc/> ==Status== The [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN) has judged that the threat to the grey plover is of "[[Vulnerable species|Vulnerable]]".<ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021"/> It is one of the species to which the ''Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds'' ([[AEWA]]) applies.<ref>{{ cite web | title=Species| url=https://www.unep-aewa.org/en/species | publisher=Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) | access-date=14 November 2021}}</ref> ==Gallery== <gallery> Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) W IMG 6950.jpg|Bird at [[Krishna Wildlife Sanctuary]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[India]] Pluvialis squatarola.jpg|Adult in winter plumage Pluvialis squatarola MHNT.jpg|''Pluvialis squatarola'' egg Pluvialis squaterola jcwf3.jpg|Bird in first-winter plumage; inset, in flight, showing the black axillaries and white rump and barred tail </gallery> ==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=bwpc>{{cite book |last1=Snow |first1=D.W. |last2=Perrins |first2=C.M. |year=1998 |title=The Birds of the Western Palearctic |edition=Concise |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-854099-X}}</ref> <ref name=hayman>{{cite book |last1=Hayman |first1=P. |last2=Marchant |first2=J. |last3=Prater |first3=T. |year=1986 |title=Shorebirds |publisher=Croom Helm |isbn=0-7099-2034-2}}</ref> <ref name=ng>{{cite book |editor1-last=Dickinson |editor1-first=M.B. |display-editors=etal |year=1999 |title=Field Guide to the Birds of North America |publisher=National Geographic |isbn=0-7922-7451-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetobird00nati }}</ref> }} ==External links== {{Commons category|Pluvialis squatarola}} {{Wikispecies|Pluvialis squatarola}} * [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/pluvialis_squatarola.html Black-bellied plover] at [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu Animal Diversity Web] * {{field guide birds of the world|Pluvialis squatarola}} * {{InternetBirdCollection|grey-plover-pluvialis-squatarola}} * {{VIREO|Black-bellied+Plover|Black-bellied plover}} * {{IUCN_Map|22693749/254375039|Pluvialis squatarola}} * [http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/254.pdf Grey plover species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds] * {{BirdLife|22693749|Pluvialis squatarola}} * {{Avibase|name=Pluvialis squatarola}} * [http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Black-bellied_Plover.html Black-bellied Plover Species Account] – Cornell Lab of Ornithology * {{Xeno-canto species|Pluvialis|squatarola|Grey plover}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q18835}} [[Category:Pluvialis|grey plover]] [[Category:Shorebirds|gery plover]] [[Category:Birds of the Arctic]] [[Category:Cosmopolitan birds]] [[Category:Birds described in 1758|grey plover]] [[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus|grey plover]] [[Category:Holarctic birds]]
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