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Semipalmated Plover
(Charadrius semipalmatus)
Size: 16-17.5 cm; wing span 47-50 cm
Weight: 32-46 g
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Similar
species |
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Physical description |
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 Click here for a physical description
Semipalmated Plovers are very small waders. Their breeding
plumage has a
black-and-white facial mask and an otherwise grey back of the
head. Semipalmated Plovers have narrow yellow orbital rings
(eye-rings).
The neck is a white band, widest at the front, under which
they have a single broad, black chest band. The rest of the
front, down to the undertail coverts, is white.
The back and the wings are grey, with some faint vermiculation
on the wing coverts. In flight they show a thin white wing bar
near the trailing edge of the upperwings.
The irises are dark. The bill is orange, with a black tip; legs
and feet are also orange.
In Australia they are usually found in non-breeding
plumage.
Apart from off-white supercilia and an
off-white patch on the frons, the head is grey. Also the back
is grey and they have a single, wide darker-grey chest band.
The rest of the front is entirely white, as is a thin neck band.
Outside the breeding season the bill is dark-grey, but the legs
and feet stay orange.
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Twitcher's tip |
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There are two subtle differences between
Semipalmated Plovers and
Common Ringed Plovers.
Semipalmated Plovers have a small white strip between gape and lore
and they have some webbing (skin) between their frontal toes (in both
gaps).
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.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Semipalmated
Plover at Wikipedia  .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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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
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The global distribution of the Semipalmated Plover is available
HERE
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Semipalmated Plovers are birds of the Americas.
Apart from New Foundland and Nova Scotia in the East, their breeding
grounds are in northern Canada, from the western side of the Hudson
Bay and the islands northward, and towards southern Greenland, and
westward all the way across the continent, to Alaska and the eastern
Aleutian islands.
In the rest of Canada and the US, except the southern Rocky Mountains,
they are found on migration.
Their winter quarters are exclusively in coastal areas, from the
Chesapeake Bay in the East and the area around Seattle in the West,
southward, along the entire coastal fringe of North America, Central
America and South America, including the Baja California and the
Caribbean islands. They go as far southward as far-northern Chile
in the West and southern Argentina along the South American East
coast.
In Australia, Semipalmated Plovers are rare vagrants. They are found
only in coastal areas. Apart from two sighting reports from WA (1 in
Broome, WA, the other on the WA South Coast), they are found only
along the Australian East and South coast, from ca. Brisbane, QLD,
to Pelican Point, SA (near the border with NSW). Due to the
difficulty in identifying them, they may be underreported.
In Australia, Semipalmated Plovers are usually found on
beaches
and mudflats.
Since they are also present in
sewage treatment plants,
they may have a preference for eutrophic water.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
M. Eaton reports finding a Semipalmated Plover at Wellington
Point, Redland, near Brisbane, QLD, in January 2022.
All sighting and photographic information presented on this page
has been kindly contributed by M. Eaton.
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Photos |
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ADULT |
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NON-BREEDING |
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Frontal view of a male Semipalmated Plover in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Wellington Point, Redland, near Brisbane, QLD, January 2022]
Near-lateral view of a Semipalmated Plover in non-breeding
plumage;
note the small white gap between lore and gape
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Wellington Point, Redland, near Brisbane, QLD, January 2022]
Lateral view of a Semipalmated Plover in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Wellington Point, Redland, near Brisbane, QLD, January 2022]
Near-dorsal view of a Semipalmated Plover in non-breeding
plumage on a
mudflat
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Wellington Point, Redland, near Brisbane, QLD, January 2022]
Near-dorsal view of a male Semipalmated Plover in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Wellington Point, Redland, near Brisbane, QLD, January 2022]
Dorsal view of a male Semipalmated Plover in non-breeding
plumage;
note the webbing between the toes, on both sides of the
middle toe
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Wellington Point, Redland, near Brisbane, QLD, January 2022]
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.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
Call/s
