Pluvialis squatarola

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Physical Description

Habitat

Found on mud flats and sandy beaches.

Vegetation: coastal sand beaches and mudflats, coastal rocky beaches • Sensitivity to Disturbance: Low

Typically found in the intertidal zone at the water's edge at a mean distance from sea level of 29 meters (94 feet).[1]

Ecology: Behaviour This species is fully migratory1. It departs its breeding grounds from late-July to September (southward movements continuing into November)1, 2 and returns from late-May to June1. It breeds from May to August2 in solitary well-dispersed pairs1 and forages alone or in small loose flocks3 of up to 30 individuals1. It is gregarious during the winter however, often roosting in large flocks containing up to several thousand individuals1.

Habitat Breeding The species nests in the high Arctic in both upland and valley locations1 between the treeline and the coast4 , utilising dry stony tundra with sedge, moss, lichen1, grass3 or dwarf birch4, peat ridges in tundra marshes3, dry exposed ridges, riverbanks, raised sand or gravel beaches, and rocky slopes3. Non-breeding Outside of the breeding season the species frequents intertidal mudflats , saltmarshes1, sandflats1, 3 and beaches1 of oceanic coastlines, bays and estuaries3. During migration it may also be found inland on lakes , pools or grasslands1.

Diet Breeding During the breeding season the diet of this species consists largely of adult and larval insects such as beetles and Diptera1 as well as some plant matter (e.g. grass seeds and stems)1. Non-breeding When on the coast in its wintering range the species takes marine polychaete worms, molluscs and crustaceans1 (e.g. crabs, sand shrimps)3, occasionally also taking insects (e.g. grasshoppers and beetles) or earthworms when in inland habitats on passage1.

Breeding site The nest is a shallow scrape1 on dry ground in exposed, stony sites4, neighbouring nests not less than 400 m apart1.

Management information In the UK there is evidence that the removal of Spartina anglica from tidal mudflats using a herbicide is beneficial for the species5.[2].

List of Habitats:

• 4 Grassland
• 4.1 Grassland - Tundra
• 12 Marine Intertidal
• 12.1 Marine Intertidal - Rocky Shoreline
• 12.2 Marine Intertidal - Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits , Etc
• 12.3 Marine Intertidal - Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches
• 12.4 Marine Intertidal - Mud Flats and Salt Flats
• 12.6 Marine Intertidal - Tidepools
• 13 Marine Coastal/Supratidal
• 13.4 Marine Coastal/Supratidal - Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes
• 13.5 Marine Coastal/Supratidal - Coastal Freshwater Lakes

Biology

Diet

Primarily aquatic invertebrates .

Reproduction

Clutch Size: 4 Length of Incubation : 26-27 days Days to Fledge : 35-45 Number of Broods: 1

Migration

Migratory

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Pluvialis squatarola (Linnaeus, 1758)

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001

Similar Species

American Golden Plover, Pacific Golden Plover

Members of the genus Pluvialis

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 11 species and subspecies in this genus:

P. apricaria (Eurasian Golden Plover) · P. apricaria altifrons (European Golden-Plover) · P. apricaria apricaria (European Golden-Plover) · P. dominica (American Golden-Plover) · P. dominica dominica (American Golden Plover) · P. dominica fulva (American Golden Plover) · P. fulva (American Golden-Plover) · P. obscura (New Zealand Dotterel) · P. squatarola (Black Bellied Plover) · P. squatarola cynosurae (American Black-Bellied Plover) · P. squatarola squatarola (Black-Bellied Plover)

More Info

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Further Reading

• A Directory of Neotropical Wetlands. IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre url p. 199, p. 218, p. 219, p. 220, p. 24, p. 246, p. 247, p. 248, p. 249, p. 250, p. 283, p. 284, p. 287, p. 290, p. 323, p. 326, p. 383, p. 411, p. 417, p. 448, p. 451, p. 473, p. 531, p. 533, p. 541, p. 555, p. 562, p. 563, p. 566, p. 573, p. 680, p. 79, p. 81, p. 82, p. 83, p. 87.
• A List of British birds / London: John Van Voorst, 1883. url .
• A checklist of the vertebrate animals of Kansas / George D. Potts, Joseph T. Collins. [Lawrence, Kan.]: Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, 1991. url p. 10.
• A hand-book to the birds of Great Britain / by R. Bowdler Sharpe. London: E. Lloyd, 1896-1897. url p. 138.
• A history of British birds, indigenous and migratory: including their organization, habits, and relation; remarks on classification and nomenclature; an account of the principal organs of birds, and observations relative to practical ornithology. .. By William Macgillivray. London, Printed for Scott, Webster and Geary, 1837-52. url p. 86, p. 88, p. 90, p. 92.
• A history of British birds, with coloured illustrations of their eggs. By Henry Seebohm. .. London, Pub. for the author by R.H. Porter [etc.]1883-85. url p. 44.
• A history of the birds of Europe: including all the species inhabiting the western palaearctic region / London: Published by the Author, 1871-1881. url p. 455.
• A list of British birds / compiled by a committee of the British Ornithologists' Union. London: J. van Voorst, 1883. url p. 158.
• An ecological characterization of Coastal Maine (north and east of Cape Elizabeth) / Stewart I. Fefer and Patricia S. Schettig: principal investigators. Newton Corner, Mass.: Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northeast Region, 1980. url p. 5.
• Beached marine birds and mammals of the North American West Coast: a manual for their census and identification / by David G. Ainley. .. [et al.] Pt. Reyes Bird Observatory; with drawings by Helen C. Strong; performed for National Coastal Ecosystems Team, Office of Biological Services, Fish and Wildlife Service [Washington, D.C.]: For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., [1980] url p. 133.
• Biodiversity trends and threats in Europe: development and test of a species trend indicator RIVM, UNEP-WCMC url p. 48.
• Biosphere Reserves, Compilation 4, October 1986: programme on man and the biosphere (MAB) IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre url p. 272.
• Birds in Kansas / Max C. Thompson & Charles Ely. 1 Lawrence, Kan.: University of Kansas, Museum of Natural History: c1989- url p. 203, p. xii.
• Birds of the Chukchi Peninsula and Wrangel Island = (Ptitsy Chukotskogo poluostrova i ostrova Vrangelya) / L.A. Portenko; translated from Russian [by P.M. Rao]. New Delhi: Published for the Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C., by Amerind Pub. Co., 1981- url , p. 310, p. 312, p. 322, p. 342, p. 346.
• Birds of the Northwest: a hand-book of the ornithology of the region drained by the Missouri River and its tributaries / by Elliott Coues. Washington: Govt. Print. Off., 1874. url p. 448.
• Bulletin - United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.];1877-1971. url p. 75.
• Bulletin / Peabody Museum of Natural History. 1972 New Haven: Peabody Museum of Natural History, url fig. 20, p. 341.
• Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. 118 1958 Cambridge, Mass.: The Museum, 1863- url p. 30, fig. 1, page 36, p. 37, fig. 3, page 43, p. 46, p. 47, p. 54.
• California fish and game. [San Francisco, etc.]: State of California, Resources Agency, Dept. of Fish and Game. url p. 118, p. 122, p. 94.
• Canada's missing dimension: science and history in the Canadian Arctic Islands / Ottawa: Canadian Museum of Nature, 1990. url p. 520, p. 525, p. 850.
• Catalogue of British Birds in the Collection of the British Museum / by G.R. Gray. London, 1863. url p. 138.
• Catalogue of British birds in the collection of the British Museum. London, Printed by order of the trustees, 1863. url .
• Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. London, 1874-98. url p. 187.
• Check-list of North American birds: the species of birds of North America from the Arctic through Panama, including the West Indies and Hawaiian Islands / prepared by the Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the American Orni Lawrence, Kan.: American Ornithologists' Union, 1983. url p. 165, p. 801.
• Coastal Sensitivity Overview of the Strait of Malacca. Compiled for International Maritime Organisation (IMO) IMO url , , .
• Coloured figures of the birds of the British Islands / issued by Lord Lilford. London: R. H. Porter, 1885-1897. url p. 41.
• Directory of Wetlands of International Importance. IUCN url p. 115, p. 116, p. 122, p. 130, p. 167, p. 224, p. 226, p. 227, p. 29, p. 348, p. 425, p. 434, p. 437, p. 451, p. 452, p. 459, p. 527, p. 537, p. 575, p. 656, p. 693, p. 698, p. 701, p. 703, p. 745, p. 775, p. 83.
• Ecological investigations of the tundra biome in the Prudhoe Bay region, Alaska / edited by Jerry Brown. [Fairbanks: University of Alaska], 1975. url p. 122.
• FWS/0BS. [Washington]Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior. url p. 132.
• Great Basin naturalist memoirs. 1976 [Provo, Utah]Brigham Young University, 1976-1992. url p. 80.
• Hand-book to the birds of Great Britain. London, Allen, 1894-97. url p. 138.
• IUCN Directory of Afrotropical Protected Areas IUCN, UNEP url p. 1028, p. 277, p. 394.
• Illinois River Bluffs area assessment / Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Scientific Research and Analysis, [and the] State Geological Survey Division. Springfield, Ill.: Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources, 1998- url p. 73.
• List of the specimens of the British animals in the collection of the British museum. London: Printed by order of the Trustees, 1845-55. url p. 84.
• MAB Biosphere Reserves: Site Descriptions, post compilation 5 (October 1990) UNESCO MAB Programme url .
• Madagascar: an environmental profile IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre url p. 176.
• Manual of British birds: including the essential characteristics of the orders, families, genera, and species. London: Printed for Adam Scott, 1846. url p. 48.
• Memoirs of the San Diego Society of Natural History. 3 1968 San Diego, Calif.: The Society, 1931-1989. url figs. 7-8, page 15, p. 248, p. 47, p. 73.
• North American fauna. Washington: Fish and Wildlife Service; for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U. S. Govt. Print. Off. url p. 70.
• Oceanus. Woods Hole, Mass., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution url p. 39.
• Oil spill sensitivity of the western Indian Ocean islands: coastal data from the Comoros Islands, Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion and the Seychelles WCMC url p. 60.
• Our living resources: a report to the nation on the distribution, abundance, and health of U.S. plants, animals, and ecosystems / [edited by], Edward T. LaRoe. .. [et al.]. Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Biological Service, 1995. url p. 487.
• P.D. Skaar's Montana bird distribution / revised by the Montana Bird Distribution Committee. [Helena, MT]:Montana Natural Heritage Program, 1996 url p. 39.
• Proposed estuarine sanctuary grant award to the state of New York for a Hudson River estuarine sanctuary. Albany, N.Y.: New York, Dept. of Environmental Conservation, [1982] url p. 121.
• Protected Landscapes: experience around the world. Prepared for the International Symposium on Protected Landscapes, Grange-over-Sands, England 5-10 October 1987 IUCN url p. 94.
• Publications in zoology = Publications en zoologie. Ottawa: National Museums of Canada, National Museum of Natural Sciences, 1970-1982. url p. 65.
• Report of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and financial report of the Executive Committee of the Board of Regents for the year ending June 30. .. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1933-1965. url p. 129.
• Smithsonian miscellaneous collections. 13 1877 Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1862-1968. url p. 16, p. 17.
• Syllogeus. Ottawa, National Museum of Natural Sciences, 1972-1995. url p. 13, p. 25.
• The Canadian field-naturalist. Ottawa, Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. url p. 110, p. 12, p. 175, p. 211, p. 230, p. 27, p. 316, p. 372, p. 374, p. 377, p. 390, p. 393, p. 416, p. 420, p. 421, p. 431, p. 483, p. 571, p. 647, p. 725, p. 736.
• The Great Basin naturalist. 37 1977 Provo, Utah: M.L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University, 1939-1999. url p. 248, p. 519.
• The Marine Mammal Commission compendium of selected treaties, international agreements, and other relevant documents on marine resources, wildlife, and the environment / compiled by Richard L. Wallace. Washington, D.C.: The Commission; 1994 url p. 3127, p. 3482.
• The birds of North and Middle America: a descriptive catalogue of the higher groups, genera, species, and subspecies of birds known to occur in North America, from the Arctic lands to the Isthmus of Panama, the West Indies and other island Washington: Govt. Print. Off., 1901- url .
• The birds of Sibuyan Island, Romblon Province, Philippines: with particular reference to elevational distribution and biogeographic affinities / Steven M. Goodman, David E. Willard, Pedro C. Gonzales. 82 1995 [Chicago, Ill.]: Field Museum of Natural History, c1995. url p. 18.
• The birds of southeastern Madagascar / Steven M. Goodman. .. [et al.]. 87 1997 [Chicago, Ill.]: Field Museum of Natural History, c1997. url p. 131, p. 37.
• The ecology of Tijuana Estuary, California: a national estuarine research reserve / by Joy B. Zedler, Christopher S. Nordby and Barbara E. Kus. [Washington, D.C.: NOAA Office of Coastal Resource Management, Sanctuaries and Reserves Division], 1992. url p. 68.
• The game birds and wild fowl of the British Islands. Sheffield, Pawson & Brailsford, 1900. url , .
• The geographical distribution of the family Charadriidae, or the plovers, sandpipers, snipes, and their allies / London; H. Sotheran & Co., [1888] url p. 103.
• The non-passerine Pleistocene avifauna of the Talara Tar Seeps, northwestern Peru / Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum, 1979. url p. 107.
• Transactions of the San Diego Society of Natural History. 18 1975 [San Diego]: The Society, 1905-1989. url fig. 13, page 48.
• Treaties and other international agreements on fisheries, oceanographic resources, and wildlife to which the United States is party / prepared at the request of Hon. Warren G. Magnuson for the use of the Committee on Commerce, United States Senate, by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress. Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O., 1974. url p. 822.
• Washington State Coastal Zone Management Program amendment no. 3: approval of the Grays Harbor estuary management plan: program draft environmental impact statement. [Olympia, Wash.?]: Grays Harbor Regional Planning Commission; 1983. url p. 5.

Notes

Contributors

• BirdLife International 2011. Pluvialis squatarola. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 04February2012.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 9, 2012.
• IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 11, 2007:

• Avian Knowledge Network, eBird
• Biologiezentrum der Oberoesterreichischen Landesmuseen, Biologiezentrum Linz
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, North West Territories and Nunavut Bird Checklist, Canada
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Birds
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Royal British Columbia Museum
• Marine Science Institute, UCSB, Paleobiology Database
• Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
• New Brunswick Museum, NBM birds
• OZCAM
• Provider, Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums
• Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara Musem of Natural History
• The Danish Biodiversity Information Facility, Western Palearctic migrants in continental Africa
• UNIBIO, IBUNAM, CNAV/Coleccion Nacional de Aves
• Upper Silesian Museum, Bytom, Upper Silesian Museum, Bird Observations

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 8221
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-176567
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 2481685
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 176567
• IUCN ID: 234184
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABNNB02010
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 853

Footnotes

1. Standard Deviation = 44.380 based on 109,202 observations. Terrestrial altitude and ocean depth information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
2. BirdLife International 2011. Pluvialis squatarola. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 04 February 2012. ... [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.