Plover

Plover
Plovers
Killdeer
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Charadriidae
Subfamily: Charadriinae
Leach, 1820
Genera

Pluvialis
Charadrius
Thinornis
Elseyornis
Peltohyas
Anarhynchus
Phegornis
Oreopholus

Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius
Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus
Lesser Sand Plover, Charadrius mongolus
Snowy Plover, on the beach at Vanderberg, CA

Plovers (/ˈplʌvər/, or spelling pronunciation /ˈploʊvər/) are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. There are about 40 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel". The closely related lapwing subfamily, Vanellinae, comprises another 20-odd species.

Plovers are found throughout the world, and are characterised by relatively short bills. They hunt by sight, rather than by feel as longer-billed waders like snipe do.

They feed mainly on insects, worms or other invertebrates, depending on habitat, which are obtained by a run-and-pause technique, rather than the steady probing of some other wader groups.[1]

The plover group of birds has a distraction display subcategorized as false brooding, pretending to change position, to sit on an imaginary nest site.

A group of plovers may be referred to as a stand, wing, or congregation. A group of dotterels may be referred to as a trip.[2]

Species list in taxonomic order

References

  1. ^ Perrins, Christopher, ed. (2004) The New Encyclopedia of Birds, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
  2. ^ "What do you call a group of ...?". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/page/collectivenouns_us. Retrieved 19 April 2011. 

External links


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Plover — Plov er, n. [OF. plovier, F. pluvier, prop., the rain bird, fr. LL. (assumed) pluviarius, fr. L. pluvia rain, from pluere to rain; akin to E. float, G. fliessen to flow. See {Float}.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) Any one of numerous species of limicoline birds… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Plover — ist der Name mehrerer Orte in den Vereinigten Staaten: Plover (Iowa) Plover (Wisconsin) eine Inselgruppe in Kanada: Plover Islands Sonstiges: HMS Plover, diverse Schiffe der Royal Navy (en:HMS Plover) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Plover — Plover, WI U.S. village in Wisconsin Population (2000): 10520 Housing Units (2000): 4133 Land area (2000): 8.495966 sq. miles (22.004451 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.384034 sq. miles (0.994643 sq. km) Total area (2000): 8.880000 sq. miles… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Plover, IA — U.S. city in Iowa Population (2000): 95 Housing Units (2000): 50 Land area (2000): 0.543496 sq. miles (1.407649 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.543496 sq. miles (1.407649 sq. km) FIPS code:… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Plover, WI — U.S. village in Wisconsin Population (2000): 10520 Housing Units (2000): 4133 Land area (2000): 8.495966 sq. miles (22.004451 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.384034 sq. miles (0.994643 sq. km) Total area (2000): 8.880000 sq. miles (22.999094 sq. km) …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Plover — Plover, Hauptort der Grafschaft Portage im Staate Wisconsin (Nordamerika), an der Mündung des Plover River in den Wisconsin; in der Umgegend Nadelholzwaldungen; Holzhandel …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • plover — c.1300, from Anglo Fr. plover, O.Fr. pluvier, earlier plovier (c.1200), from V.L. *plovarius, lit. belonging to rain, from L. pluvia rain. Perhaps so called because the birds migration arrival coincides with the start of the rainy season, or from …   Etymology dictionary

  • plover — [pluv′ər, plō′vər] n. pl. plovers or plover [ME < OFr plovier, lit., rain bird < VL * pluviarius < L pluvia, rain (see PLUVIAL): said to be so named because it was believed to cry before a rain] 1. any of a worldwide family… …   English World dictionary

  • plover — ► NOUN ▪ a short billed wading bird, typically found by water but sometimes frequenting grassland. ORIGIN Old French, from Latin pluvia rain …   English terms dictionary

  • plover — /pluv euhr, ploh veuhr/, n. 1. any of various shorebirds of the family Charadriidae. Cf. dotterel (def. 1), killdeer, lapwing. 2. any of various similar shorebirds, as the upland plover and other sandpipers. [1275 1325; ME < AF; OF plovier… …   Universalium

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