Piping Plover

Piping Plover, male, breeding plumage (worn)

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Piping Plover, female; June, Martha's Vineyard, MA

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A small pale shorebird of open sandy beaches and alkali flats, the Piping Plover is found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, as well as inland in the northern Great Plains. Because of disturbance by people, all populations are considered endangered or threatened.

Description

• Small shorebird.
• Legs moderately long.
• Neck short.
• Back pale tan.
• Underparts white with one black or brown band on chest, often broken in middle.
• Legs yellow.

• Size: 17-18 cm (7-7 in)
• Weight: 43-63 g (1.52-2.22 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes similar, but male slightly larger and with brighter orange base to bill when breeding.

Sound

Clear whistled peeps.

Conservation Status

Listed as endangered in Canada and the inland United States, threatened along coast. Declines resulted from direct and unintentional harassment by people, dogs, and vehicles, destruction of beach habitat for development, and changes in water level regulation.

Other Names

Pluvier siffleur (French)
Chorlitejo picocorto (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• Intruders near a Piping Plover nest are chased and may be pecked or bitten. In Manitoba, one Killdeer was observed entering a Piping Plover territory where it was bitten so hard on the leg that it limped for the rest of the summer.

Sources used to construct this page:

Haig, S. M. 1992. Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus). In The Birds of North America, No.2 (A. Poole, P.Stettenheim, and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia:The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, DC: The American Ornithologists' Union.