Visual Search | Wizard | Browse
Bird name:
Home| Search| Browser| Expert| Forum| Store| My WhatBird| Help| Site Map

Piping Plover

Charadrius melodusOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Plovers (Charadriidae)
Codes: Common Name: PIPL Scientific Name: CHAMEL ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176507
Near Threatened
ask community
Piping Plover: The breeding male Piping Plover is sand colored with black bands on the head and neck during the breeding season. The bill is bright orange with a black tip.
Copyright © 2004 - 2008 Whatbird.com
whatbird search for your browser
whatbird search for your browser
Splitbar
Rate this Illustration: Excellent Very Good Good
Fair Below Avg Poor

Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips
Jelly Jar Jelly Feeder
The orange "blossum" replaces the lid of a jelly jar.
Attract Orioles with Fruit
Sliced orange secures easily to the center of the ring. Low cost.
Attract with Nectar
Hex shaped nectar feeds several Orioles. Nectar kept in fridge.
Charm and Attraction
Lovely copper umbrella keeps fruit cool and looks great.

Overview

Piping Plover: Small, pale sand-colored plover, showy black bands on head, neck. White upertail with white-edged black tip. Short bill has bright orange base and black tip. Legs are bright orange. Eats fly larvae, beetles, crustaceans and marine worms. Feeds higher on the beach than other plovers.


Range and Habitat

Piping Plover: Nearly always found in open sandy areas near water, including ocean and lakeside beaches or river sandbars. Found along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, moving north to breed and south for winter. Also breeds in the upper Midwest.

whatbird search for your browser
whatbird search for your browser

Topo Map: Sandpiper-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

"peep-u"

Interesting Facts

 Piping plovers will sometimes extend one foot out into wet sand and vibrate it to scare up food items, a foraging technique known as foot-trembling.

 Their name is derived from its plaintive bell-like whistles which are often heard before the bird is visible.

 Adults will feign a broken wing, drawing attention to itself and away from their chicks when a predator is near.

 A group of plovers has many collective nouns, including a "brace", "congregation", "deceit", "ponderance" and "wing" of plovers.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

David Wenzel

Splitbar
Range Map for Piping Plover

.
Family
Species Charadrius melodus
Length7.25 Inches
Wingspan19 Inches

Piping Plover

Piping Plover: Small, pale sand-colored plover, showy black bands on head, neck. White upertail with white-edged black tip. Short bill has bright orange base and black tip. Legs are bright orange. Eats fly larvae, beetles, crustaceans and marine worms. Feeds higher on the beach than other plovers.

● Song: "peep-u"

● Foraging & Feeding: Piping Plover: Finds food by sight. Runs a few steps, pauses briefly, then runs a few more steps or chases prey. Hunts on dry sand, wet sand, and mud at water's edge. Eats a wide variety of small insects and invertebrates.

● Breeding & nesting: Piping Plover: Lays three to four pale buff eggs marked with brown and black in simple scrape of sand on an open beach, often near a clump of grass. Both parents incubate for 26 to 28 days. Chicks leave nest within hours of hatching and can feed themselves. Female often departs soon after, leaving male to guard young as they grow.

● Similar species: Piping Plover: Snowy Plover has thin dark bill, dark legs, and a dark line behind eye. Much darker Semipalmated Plover has a dark mask on its face.

Flight Pattern

Strong direct flight with fast wingbeats.
Piping Plover Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Piping Plover: Nearly always found in open sandy areas near water, including ocean and lakeside beaches or river sandbars. Found along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, moving north to breed and south for winter. Also breeds in the upper Midwest.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
Population
MigrationMigratory
Weight1.9 Ounces
Sandpiper-like BodyX
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Read more...
ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

Read more...
Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX