Plovers
Hooded dotterel (Charadrius cucullatus)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Charadriidae
Subfamily:	Charadriinae Leach, 1820
Genera
see the table

Little ringed plover Charadrius dubius

Kentish plover Anarhynchus alexandrinus

Lesser sand plover, Anarhynchus mongolus

Snowy plover, on the beach at Vandenberg, CA

Plovers (/ˈplʌvər/ PLUV-ər,^[1] also US: /ˈploʊvər/ PLOH-vər)^[2] are members of a widely distributed group of wading birds of family Charadriidae. The term "plover" applies to all the members of the family, though only about half of them include it in their name.

Species list in taxonomic sequence

The taxonomy of family Charadriidae is unsettled. At various times the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings of family Charadriidae have been distributed among several subfamilies, with Charadriinae including most of the species. The International Ornithological Congress (IOC) and the Clements taxonomy do not assign species to subfamilies.^[3][4] The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (AOS) includes all of the species in Charadriinae. The North American Classification Committee of the AOS separates lapwings as subfamily Vanellinae.^[5] BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World includes lapwings in Charadriinae but separates the four members of genus Pluvialis as subfamily Pluvialinae.^[6][7]

The IOC recognizes these 69 species of plovers, dotterels, and lapwings in family Charadriidae. They are distributed among 11 genera, some of which have only one species.^[3] This list is presented according to the IOC taxonomic sequence and can also be sorted alphabetically by common name and binomial.

Description

Plovers are found throughout the world, with the exception of the Sahara and the polar regions, and are characterised by relatively short bills. They hunt by sight, rather than by feel as longer-billed waders like snipes do. They feed mainly on insects, worms or other invertebrates, depending on the habitat, which are obtained by a run-and-pause technique, rather than the steady probing of some other wader groups.^[8] Plovers engage in false brooding, a type of distraction display. Examples include pretending to change position or to sit on an imaginary nest site.

In folklore

The European golden plover^[9] spends summers in Iceland, and in Icelandic folklore, the appearance of the first plover in the country means that spring has arrived. The Icelandic media always covers the first plover sighting.^[10]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Plovers.

Wikispecies has information related to Charadriinae.