Semipalmated Plover

Charadrius semipalmatusOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Plovers (Charadriidae)

Codes: Common Name: SEPL Scientific Name: CHASEM ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176506

Breeding Location:

Tundra

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Loose colonies

Breeding Population:

Egg Color:

Buff to olive brown, marked with black or brown.

Number of Eggs:

3 - 4

Incubation Days:

23 - 25

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Lined with shell fragments, pebbles, and plants.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Semipalmated Plover: Small plover with gray-brown upperparts and white underparts. Forehead and faint eyebrows are white, while face and collar are black. Bill is orange with black tip. Wings have white stripes visible in flight. Tail is brown with white edges. Legs and feet are orange. Sexes are similar. Winter adult is paler with distinct white eyebrows. Juvenile resembles winter adult but has yellow legs and feet.

Range and Habitat

Semipalmated Plover: Breeds on sandy or mossy tundra from Alaska to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Spends winters on mudflats, salt marshes, and lakeshores along coastal California and the Carolinas south.

Breeding and Nesting

Semipalmated Plover: Three to four buff to olive brown eggs marked with brown or black are laid in a ground depression. In sandy areas, nest is lined with shell fragments and pebbles; on tundra, it is lined with plants. Both parents incubate eggs for 23 to 25 days. Young fly at 23 to 31 days.

Foraging and Feeding

Semipalmated Plover: Eats insects, crustaceans, and mollusks; forages on mudflats or in shallow water, running and scanning for food in short bursts.

Vocalization

Semipalmated Plover: Call is a whistled, up-slurred "chu-weet"; song is a series of the same.

Similar Species

Semipalmated Plover: Snowy and Piping Plovers have much paler upperparts, stubbier bills, white lores, broader wing stripes, and less complete breast bands. Wilson's Plover has a thicker bill, single broad black or gray-brown breast band, and flesh-colored legs.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Plover: Small plover, gray-brown upperparts and white underparts. Forehead and faint eyebrows are white, while face and collar are black. Bill is orange with black tip. Wings have white stripes visible in flight. Tail is brown with white edges. Orange legs, feet. Strong direct flight.

● Song: "chu-weet"

● Foraging & Feeding: Semipalmated Plover: Eats insects, crustaceans, and mollusks; forages on mudflats or in shallow water, running and scanning for food in short bursts.

● Breeding & nesting: Semipalmated Plover: Three to four buff to olive brown eggs marked with brown or black are laid in a ground depression. In sandy areas, nest is lined with shell fragments and pebbles; on tundra, it is lined with plants. Both parents incubate eggs for 23 to 25 days. Young fly at 23 to 31 days.

● Similar species: Semipalmated Plover: Snowy and Piping Plovers have much paler upperparts, stubbier bills, white lores, broader wing stripes, and less complete breast bands. Wilson's Plover has a thicker bill, single broad black or gray-brown breast band, and flesh-colored legs.

Flight Pattern

Rapidly beating wings., Strong direct flight.

● Range & Habitat: Semipalmated Plover: Breeds on sandy or mossy tundra from Alaska to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Spends winters on mudflats, salt marshes, and lakeshores along coastal California and the Carolinas south.

^BreedingMonogamous, Loose colonies

^Population

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight1.7 Ounces

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Collar

Similar to the upper part of the human neck, located at the back of the crown.

Face

The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

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.

Field Guide to Birds of North America