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9

Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) Alternate name(s): "Black-bellied Plover" Aboriginal name(s): "gurimbarr" [ngadjon] Size: 28-30 cm; wing span 71-83 cm Weight: 190-280 g (up to 345 g prior to migration)

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Grey Plovers are relatively small waders. Their plumage is highly cryptic. When seen in Australia, they are usually, but not always, in eclipse plumage. During the non-breeding season the sides of the head are off-white, with wide greyish-brown eye stripes. The throat is off-white, while the sides and nape of the neck and the chest are off-white with grey-brown streaks. The belly, vent and undertail coverts are white. During the breeding season their front (face below the eyes, front and sides of the neck, chest, belly and vent) is all-black, with white lining from the forehead via the eyebrow along the sides to the front of the wings. The back (cap, nape of the neck, mantle upperwings and uppertail) remains mottled grey and black. The bill is dull black; the legs and feet are dark-grey. Twitcher's tip In Australia, Grey Plovers are usually only seen in non-breeding or transitional plumage. Compared to Pacific Golden Plovers their back appears darker, more grey and the contrast between back and front is greater. Their body is bulkier, the head larger and the neck shorter than those of Pacific Golden Plovers. The correct identification of waders ("shorebirds"), e.g. of the Calidris, Tringa, Actitis and related families or of the Charadrius, Pluvialis and related genera in the field can be quite tricky. We have therefore made an attempt to give some advice HERE.

Taxonomy, classification See Grey Plover at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Grey Plover is available HERE . Grey Plovers are a global, highly migratory species which, when not breeding, can be found along the coastlines of all continents, except Antarctica. They are also found inland in central North America and large parts of Eurasia. Their breeding grounds are located in the Arctic regions of the northern continents. Grey Plovers are non-breeding migrants to Australia from the North. In Australia they can be found anywhere along the coastline, except the Nullarbor in SA and the northern NSW coastline, from Sydney to the QLD border. Occasionally they can also be found inland, in the Murray-Darling Basin or in the Lake Eyre Basin. Grey Plovers are mostly found around saltwater and brackish water, e.g. along beaches and in mangrove marshes and mudflat. They are only rarely found around fresh water.

Sightings Click here for sighting information B. Hensen reports spotting Grey Plovers at Lee Point, Darwin, NT, in March 2013, in August 2013 and again in December 2015 and in November 2018. P. Brown found the species at the same location in February 2020. J. Greaves reports spotting a Grey Plover at Alfred Cove, Swan River, Perth, WA, in January 2017. M. Eaton found a Grey Plover at Buffalo Creek beach, Darwin, NT, in July 2020.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

BREEDING

Frontal view of a Grey Plover in near-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, August 2013]

Dorsal view of a Grey Plover in near-breeding plumage resting with other waders (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, August 2013]

NON-BREEDING

Near-lateral view of a Grey Plover in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, March 2013]

Near-lateral view of a Grey Plover in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Alfred Cove, Swan River, Perth, WA, January 2017]

Lateral view of a Grey Plover in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Alfred Cove, Swan River, Perth, WA, January 2017]

Lateral view of a Grey Plover in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. M. Eaton)
[Buffalo Creek beach, Darwin, NT, July 2020]

Lateral view of a Grey Plover in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, March 2013]

Near-dorsal view of a Grey Plover in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Alfred Cove, Swan River, Perth, WA, January 2017]

(Near-)dorsal view of Grey Plovers in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, March 2013]

Direct comparison of a Grey Plover in non-breeding plumage, right, and a Pacific Golden Plover, also in non-breeding plumage, left (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Nightcliff, Darwin, NT, November 2018]

Lateral view of a Grey Plover in non-breeding plumage in flight, wings up - note the characteristic black axillaries ["arm pits"] (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, November 2018]

Lateral view of a Grey Plover in non-breeding plumage in flight, wings down (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, November 2018]

Food, Diet

Grey Plovers feed on small molluscs, polychaete worms, crustaceans and insects.

Grey Plover in non-breeding plumage with a small animal in its bill (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Alfred Cove, Swan River, Perth, WA, January 2017]

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Wed, 30 March 2022, 3:29 +00:00