Plovers: Family Charadriidae

Plovers: Family Charadriidae Black-bellied Plover Killdeer Mountain Plover Piping Plover Semipalmated Plover Snowy Plover Wilson's Plover Shorebirds Types of Birds

Plovers (Family Charadrius) are small to medium sized, migratory shorebirds that live along coastal and inland waterways around the United States.

Most feed on local invertebrate populations, however a few species are known to include some berries and seeds in their diet.

Worldwide the family consists of some sixty-six different species which fit into ten different genera.

Ten species, divided into two genera, live in the United States, although the U.S. range of all but a few are very limited.

Perhaps the Killdeers and Semipalmated Plovers are the most recognizable species because of their continental range.

Concerns about population levels mean that Snowy, Piping and Mountain Plovers grab a good deal of media attention. Both the Snowy Plover and Piping Plover are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In the past decade, the Mountain Plover just missed being listed, although they are considered a species of concern in many states that host them.

The links in the box point to articles with more detailed species information.

© 2009 Patricia A. Michaels