Grey Plover
Pluvialis squatarola
Tidal flats. Bill, legs black. Above mottled light grey-brown and white; eyebrows and forehead white; below white; breast streaked light grey-brown; in flight ‘armpits’ black
Allied Waders, Sandpipers
LC
Not Endemic
Description
Common summer visitor, a few all year. Non-breeding plumage resembles [American Golden Plover], but more chunky with greyish overall appearance. Larger size, short, stout bill and fairly long legs distinguish it from smaller shorebirds. In flight shows black ‘armpits’. Both partial breeding plumage (a) and full breeding plumage (b) occur in spring and autumn. Has a far-carrying whistle ‘tlui-tlui’ or ‘pee-u-wee’. Occurs singly or in flocks on tidal flats and secluded seashores; occasionally inland.
Quick Facts
Size
30 cm - M
Names
A: Grysstrandkiewiet
Z: umakhwaphamnyama
G: Kiebitzregenpfeifer
Bird Family
A group of small birds usually found along shorelines and wading in shallow water. They usually have longish legs and bills for probing mud, feeding on small insects and invertebrates. Species breed in northern regions and during this time the males assume richly coloured plumage. They migrate south in drab non-breeding plumage at the start of the southern hemisphere summer. Illustrations depict the species in non-breeding plumage, unless otherwise indicated.
Distribution
Gallery
Behaviour
Breeding
Habitat
Occurs singly or in 'flocks' on tidal flats and secluded seashores; occasionally inland.
