Snowy Plover

Charadrius alexandrinusOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Plovers (Charadriidae)

Codes: Common Name: SNPL Scientific Name: CHAALE ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176510

Breeding Location:

Seashore, rocky or sandy, Lakes, shallow

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, May be polygamous

Breeding Population:

Declining, Rare

Egg Color:

Pale buff spotted and marked with black or gray

Number of Eggs:

2 - 3

Incubation Days:

24 - 32

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Lined with shell fragments and grass.

Migration:

Some migrate

General

Snowy Plover: Small plover with pale brown upperparts and white underparts. Dark patches are evident on either side of upper breast (partial breast band), behind eye, and on white forehead. Bill, legs, and feet are black. Wings have white stripes visible in flight. Tail is dark with thick, white edges. Legs and feet are dark gray; bill is black. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is duller.

Range and Habitat

Snowy Plover: Occurs along the west coast from Washington to Baja California and along the Gulf Coast from Florida to the Yucatan Peninsula. Preferred habitats include sandy coastal beaches and shallow alkaline lakes.

Breeding and Nesting

Snowy Plover: Two or three pale buff eggs with black or gray marks and spots are laid in a shallow ground depression lined with shell fragments or grass. Nest is built by the male. Both male and female incubate eggs for 24 to 32 days. Young fly at 26 to 31 days; raises one or two broods per year.

Foraging and Feeding

Snowy Plover: Feeds on small crustaceans and soft-bodied invertebrates. Forages in wet sand and surf-cast kelp, in dry, sandy areas above the high tide, on saltpans, on spoil sites, and along the edges of salt marshes, salt ponds, and lagoons; sometimes probes in sand or gleans from vegetation.

Vocalization

Snowy Plover: Calls include a low "krut" and a soft, whistled "ku-wheet."

Similar Species

Snowy Plover: Semipalmated Plover is darker and has complete breast band. Piping Plover has yellow legs, red eye-ring, complete breast band (in breeding plumage), and orange-based bill.

Percevia^® Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The Percevia field guides, database and search protocol patent pending.

The best bird guide and bird watching search engine to identify birds!

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.

Snowy Plover

Snowy Plover: Small plover, pale brown upperparts, white underparts. Dark patches on either side of upper breast (partial breast band), behind eye, and on white forehead. Bill, legs, and feet are black. Wings have white stripes visible in flight. Dark tail has white edges. Dark gray legs and feet.

● Song: "krut", "ku-wheet"

● Foraging & Feeding: Snowy Plover: Feeds on small crustaceans and soft-bodied invertebrates. Forages in wet sand and surf-cast kelp, in dry, sandy areas above the high tide, on saltpans, on spoil sites, and along the edges of salt marshes, salt ponds, and lagoons; sometimes probes in sand or gleans from vegetation.

● Breeding & nesting: Snowy Plover: Two or three pale buff eggs with black or gray marks and spots are laid in a shallow ground depression lined with shell fragments or grass. Nest is built by the male. Both male and female incubate eggs for 24 to 32 days. Young fly at 26 to 31 days; raises one or two broods per year.

● Similar species: Snowy Plover: Semipalmated Plover is darker and has complete breast band. Piping Plover has yellow legs, red eye-ring, complete breast band (in breeding plumage), and orange-based bill.

Flight Pattern

Direct flight with rapid wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: Snowy Plover: Occurs along the west coast from Washington to Baja California and along the Gulf Coast from Florida to the Yucatan Peninsula. Preferred habitats include sandy coastal beaches and shallow alkaline lakes.

^BreedingMonogamous, May be polygamous

^PopulationDeclining, Rare

^MigrationSome migrate

^Weight1.4 Ounces

Underparts

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

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

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

Snowy Plover

Breeding Location:

Breeding Type:

Breeding Population:

Egg Color:

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Nest Material:

Migration:

Recommended Products:

General

Range and Habitat

Breeding and Nesting

Foraging and Feeding

Vocalization

Similar Species

Snowy Plover

Flight Pattern