Snowy Plover - BirdForum Opus

Photo by nbagno
Moss Landing State Beach, California, USA, April 2011

Alternative names: Chilean Plover; Peruvian Plover

Anarhynchus nivosus

Charadrius nivosus

Identification

Photo by Dan E
Sanibel Island, Florida, USA, July 2010

15-17 cm

• Upperparts greyish brown
• Underparts white
• Black legs
  

Female: has a grey head, lacking any black markings

Distribution

North America to South America

Taxonomy

Formerly considered conspecific with Kentish Plover.

Subspecies¹

• A. a. nivosus (includes West Indian birds sometimes placed in C. a. tenuirostris):

• US to Mexico and West Indies; winters to Panama

• A. a. occidentalis:

• Coastal Peru to south-central Chile

Habitat

Sandy coasts and brackish inland lakes, and is uncommon on fresh water.

Behaviour

Breeding

It nests in a ground scrape and lays 3-5 eggs.

Diet

Diet includes insects and other invertebrates.

References

1. Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Birdforum thread discussing AOU NACC proposal to split Snowy Plover and other taxonomic changes

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Snowy Plover. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Snowy_Plover

External Links

Search for photos of Snowy Plover in the gallery

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1