Black-bellied Plover
A species of Golden Plovers and Black-bellied Plover, Also known as Silver Plover Scientific name : Pluvialis squatarola Genus : Golden Plovers and Black-bellied Plover
Black-bellied Plover, A species of Golden Plovers and Black-bellied Plover
Also known as:
Silver Plover
Botanical name: Pluvialis squatarola
Genus: Golden Plovers and Black-bellied Plover
Photo By silversea_starsong , used under CC-BY-NC-4.0 /Cropped and compressed from original 
Description
Often described as a chunky shorebird, the black-bellied Plover is often seen on mudflats and beaches. It walks and runs up and down the exposed area pecking at the surface for food. The bird is commonly seen in flocks and is widespread around the world. During the breeding season, it is primarily found in the Arctic.
Size
29 - 33 cm
Colors
Black
Gray
White
Life Expectancy
14 years
Nest Placement
Ground
Clutch Size
3 - 4 eggs
Incubation Period
1 brood
Number of Broods
23 - 27 days
Feeding Habits
Black-bellied Plover predominantly consume invertebrates, including insects, worms, crustaceans, and bivalves. They forage on muddy/sandy substrates, visually spotting prey or gleaning vegetation. Their nocturnal feeding coincides with low tides, utilizing large eyes. They consume more insects and berries on breeding grounds, while diverse prey like nemerteans, amphipods, and occasionally small fish are eaten in other habitats. Feeding events are tied to tidal movements, and they feed alone rather than in dense flocks.
Habitat
Black-bellied Plover primarily inhabit coastal ecosystems, favoring mudflats, marshes, and beaches. During breeding seasons, they reside in Arctic and Subarctic tundra, particularly in dry heath and wetland areas but avoid high mountains—nesting among a diverse range of flora such as dwarf birch and various arctic sedges. Migrants prefer lowland stopover sites, including agricultural fields and waterbody edges. Winters are spent in estuarine environments with high-tide roosts on beaches or in adjacent farmlands. Black-bellied Plover are versatile in habitat usage but require open landscapes with proximity to foraging grounds.
Nest Behavior
Black-bellied Plover's males select nest sites and initiate scrapes, which females line with vegetation. Nest-building precedes egg-laying, with both parents sharing incubation duties and caring for the young.
Nest Characteristics
Black-bellied Plover nests in dry, flat, bare areas, often in heath or gravel. Males create a small scrape lined by females with lichen, moss, willow. The cup-shaped nest is about 5.3 inches wide and 1.8 inches deep.
Dite type
Aquatic invertebrate eater
People often ask
Migration Overview
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. 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 lakes such as the Great Lakes, 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. 
General Info
Sounds
Call
Recording location: Belgium
Call
Recording location: Netherlands
Behavior
Black-bellied Plover exhibit a complex suite of behaviors, especially during the breeding season. Males vigorously defend their territories through distinctive displays, including a 'butterfly flight' high over their territory, followed by a gliding descent and post-landing rushing towards a potential mate. These displays are complemented by specific postures meant to intimidate competitors or attract females. Territories are spaced significantly, indicating a strong preference for personal space during nesting. Both sexes are involved in incubation and caring for the young, demonstrating their investment in offspring survival. Outside the breeding season, black-bellied Plover's interaction with the environment remains territorial but adapts flexibly to changing conditions, with 'moving territories' in response to tidal influences. However, rigid territorial behaviors seem to lessen in non-tidal foraging grounds, such as farm fields, where they forage in close proximity without signs of territorial disputes.
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Scientific Classification
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