| Plovers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Hooded dotterel (Charadrius cucullatus) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Charadriidae |
| Subfamily: | Charadriinae Leach, 1820 |
| Genera | |
see the table | |
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Plovers (/ˈplʌvər/PLUV-ər,[1]alsoUS:/ˈploʊvər/PLOH-vər)[2] are members of a widely distributed group ofwadingbirds of the subfamilyCharadriinae. The term "plover" applies to all the members of the subfamily,[1] though only about half of them include it in their name.[1]
The taxonomy of family Charadriidae is unsettled. At various times the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings of family Charadriidae have been distributed among several subfamilies, with Charadriinae including most of the species. TheInternational Ornithological Congress (IOC) and theClements taxonomy do not assign species to subfamilies.[3][4] The South American Classification Committee of theAmerican Ornithological Society (AOS) includes all of the species in Charadriinae.[5] The North American Classification Committee of the AOS andBirdLife International'sHandbook of the Birds of the World separate the four members of genusPluvialis as subfamily Pluvialinae.[6][7][8]
The IOC recognizes these 69 species of plovers, dotterels, and lapwings in family Charadriidae. They are distributed among 11 genera, some of which have only one species. This list is presented according to the IOC taxonomic sequence and can also be sorted alphabetically by common name and binomial.[3]
| Common name | Binomial name +authority | IOC sequence |
|---|---|---|
| Grey plover | Pluvialis squatarola(Linnaeus, 1758) | 1 |
| European golden plover | Pluvialis apricaria(Linnaeus, 1758) | 2 |
| Pacific golden plover | Pluvialis fulva(Gmelin, JF, 1789) | 3 |
| American golden plover | Pluvialis dominica(Müller, PLS, 1776) | 4 |
| Tawny-throated dotterel | Oreopholus ruficollis(Wagler, 1829) | 5 |
| Rufous-chested dotterel | Zonibyx modestusLichtenstein, MHC, 1823 | 6 |
| Diademed sandpiper-plover | Phegornis mitchellii(Fraser, 1845) | 7 |
| Eurasian dotterel | Eudromias morinellusLinnaeus, 1758 | 8 |
| Killdeer | Charadrius vociferusLinnaeus, 1758 | 9 |
| Common ringed plover | Charadrius hiaticulaLinnaeus, 1758 | 10 |
| Semipalmated plover | Charadrius semipalmatusBonaparte, 1825 | 11 |
| Piping plover | Charadrius melodusOrd, 1824 | 12 |
| Hooded dotterel | Charadrius cucullatus(Vieillot, 1818) | 13 |
| Forbes's plover | Charadrius forbesi(Shelley, 1883) | 14 |
| Three-banded plover | Charadrius tricollarisVieillot, 1818 | 15 |
| Black-fronted dotterel | Charadrius melanops(Vieillot, 1818) | 16 |
| Shore plover | Charadrius novaeseelandiae(Gmelin, JF, 1789) | 17 |
| Little ringed plover | Charadrius dubiusScopoli, 1786 | 18 |
| Long-billed plover | Charadrius placidusGray, JE &Gray, GR, 1863 | 19 |
| Pied plover | Hoploxypterus cayanus(Latham, 1790) | 20 |
| Northern lapwing | Vanellus vanellus(Linnaeus, 1758) | 21 |
| Long-toed lapwing | Vanellus crassirostris(Hartlaub, 1855) | 22 |
| Blacksmith lapwing | Vanellus armatus(Burchell, 1822) | 23 |
| Spur-winged lapwing | Vanellus spinosus(Linnaeus, 1758) | 24 |
| River lapwing | Vanellus duvaucelii(Lesson, RP, 1826) | 25 |
| Yellow-wattled lapwing | Vanellus malabaricus(Boddaert, 1783) | 26 |
| Black-headed lapwing | Vanellus tectus(Boddaert, 1783) | 27 |
| White-crowned lapwing | Vanellus albicepsGould, 1834 | 28 |
| Senegal lapwing | Vanellus lugubris(Lesson, RP, 1826) | 29 |
| Black-winged lapwing | Vanellus melanopterus(Cretzschmar, 1829) | 30 |
| Crowned lapwing | Vanellus coronatus(Boddaert, 1783) | 31 |
| African wattled lapwing | Vanellus senegallus(Linnaeus, 1766) | 32 |
| Spot-breasted lapwing | Vanellus melanocephalus(Rüppell, 1845) | 33 |
| Brown-chested lapwing | Vanellus superciliosus(Reichenow, 1886) | 34 |
| Grey-headed lapwing | Vanellus cinereus(Blyth, 1842) | 35 |
| Red-wattled lapwing | Vanellus indicus(Boddaert, 1783) | 36 |
| Javan lapwing | Vanellus macropterus(Wagler, 1827) | 37 |
| Banded lapwing | Vanellus tricolor(Vieillot, 1818) | 38 |
| Masked lapwing | Vanellus miles(Boddaert, 1783) | 39 |
| Sociable lapwing | Vanellus gregarius(Pallas, 1771) | 40 |
| White-tailed lapwing | Vanellus leucurus(Lichtenstein, MHC, 1823) | 41 |
| Southern lapwing | Vanellus chilensis(Molina, 1782) | 42 |
| Andean lapwing | Vanellus resplendens(Tschudi, 1843) | 43 |
| Red-kneed dotterel | Erythrogonys cinctusGould, 1838 | 44 |
| Inland dotterel | Peltohyas australis(Gould, 1841) | 45 |
| Caspian plover | Anarhynchus asiaticusPallas, 1773 | 46 |
| Oriental plover | Anarhynchus veredusGould, 1848 | 47 |
| Tibetan sand plover | Anarhynchus atrifons(Wagler, 1829) | 48 |
| Siberian sand plover | Anarhynchus mongolusPallas, 1776 | 49 |
| Greater sand plover | Anarhynchus leschenaultiiLesson, RP, 1826 | 50 |
| Double-banded plover | Anarhynchus bicinctusJardine &Selby, 1827 | 51 |
| Wrybill | Anarhynchus frontalisQuoy &Gaimard, 1832 | 52 |
| New Zealand plover | Anarhynchus obscurusGmelin, JF, 1789 | 53 |
| Wilson's plover | Anarhynchus wilsoniaOrd, 1814 | 54 |
| Collared plover | Anarhynchus collarisVieillot, 1818 | 55 |
| Mountain plover | Anarhynchus montanusTownsend, JK, 1837 | 56 |
| Puna plover | Anarhynchus alticola(Berlepsch &Stolzmann, 1902) | 57 |
| Two-banded plover | Anarhynchus falklandicusLatham, 1790 | 58 |
| Madagascar plover | Anarhynchus thoracicus(Richmond, 1896) | 59 |
| Kittlitz's plover | Anarhynchus pecuariusTemminck, 1823 | 60 |
| St. Helena plover | Anarhynchus sanctaehelenae(Harting, 1873) | 61 |
| Red-capped plover | Anarhynchus ruficapillusTemminck, 1821 | 62 |
| Snowy plover | Anarhynchus nivosus(Cassin, 1858) | 63 |
| Chestnut-banded plover | Anarhynchus pallidusStrickland, 1853 | 64 |
| Malaysian plover | Anarhynchus peroniiSchlegel, 1865 | 65 |
| White-fronted plover | Anarhynchus marginatusVieillot, 1818 | 66 |
| Javan plover | Anarhynchus javanicusChasen, 1938 | 67 |
| Kentish plover | Anarhynchus alexandrinusLinnaeus, 1758 | 68 |
| White-faced plover | Anarhynchus dealbatus(Swinhoe, 1870) | 69 |
Plovers are found throughout the world, with the exception of theSahara and thepolar regions, and are characterised by relatively short bills. They hunt by sight, rather than by feel as longer-billed waders likesnipes do. They feed mainly on insects, worms or other invertebrates, depending on the habitat, which are obtained by a run-and-pause technique, rather than the steady probing of some other wader groups.[9] Plovers engage in false brooding, a type ofdistraction display. Examples include pretending to change position or to sit on an imaginary nest site.
TheEuropean golden plover[10] spends summers inIceland, and inIcelandic folklore, the appearance of the first plover in the country means that spring has arrived. The Icelandic media always covers the first plover sighting.[11]
