- © Matt Goff (http://www.narwhal.org)
- Photo taken in Alaska during breeding season
Black-bellied Plovers, medium-sized long-winged shorebirds, are known as Grey Plovers in Europe. Like most plovers, when on the ground they move in a stop-run-stop fashion. These migratory birds use several flyways when they leave their summer breeding grounds in the Arctic to fly to southern wintering areas. They usually fly along the Pacific Flyway to reach California.
Facts and Features
- Geographic Distribution
Winter : east and west coasts of the US, Mexico, Central America to coastal southern South America, Bermuda, and the West Indies. Summer: Breeding grounds on Arctic coast from western Alaska to Baffin Island, in Arctic Canada, and also across northern Euroasia
- Amazing Facts
Black-bellied Plovers are members of the second-largest family of true shorebirds, the Charadriidae, a family characterized by having very small vestigial hind toes. The Black-Bellied Plover is the only North American Plover that has such a toe.
- At the Aquarium
Our Black-bellied Plovers were bred at Monterey Bay Aquarium and donated to us.