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Home/Species/ Black-bellied Plover

Pluvialis squatarola

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Black-bellied Plover

G5Secure Found in 20 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
VulnerableIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102793
Element CodeABNNB02010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNVulnerable
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderCharadriiformes
FamilyCharadriidae
GenusPluvialis
Other Common Names
Batuiruçu-Cinzenta (PT) Chorlo Gris, Chorlo Árctico (ES) Pluvier argenté (FR)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Taxonomic Comments
Species of Pluvialis were formerly (AOU 1983, 1998) placed in the subfamily Charadriinae, but genetic data (Baker et al. 2007, Barth et al. 2013, Dos Remedios et al. 2015, Cerný and Natale 2022) indicate that Pluvialis forms a deeply diverged sister lineage to the rest of the plovers (AOS 2024).
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-09
Change Date1996-11-25
Edition Date2014-04-21
Edition AuthorsJue, Dean K.
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 to >300
Rank Reasons
No real threats to this species at this point in time.
Range Extent Comments
BREEDING: northern and western Alaska, northern Canada (north to Melville, Bathurst, and Devon islands, east to Southhampton and western Baffin islands, west to arctic shore); northern Eurasia (AOU 1983). NON-BREEDING: southwestern British Columbia south along Pacific coast to Chile; Atlantic coast from New Jersey south to northern Argentina; important wintering areas in South America are Suriname and north-central coast of Brazil between Belem and Sao Luis (see Johnson and Herter 1989, Morrison and Ross 1989; see latter for details on other South American sites); West Indies; British Isles, Mediterranean region, southern China, and Hawaii (uncommon, irregular) south to southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand (AOU 1983). Nonbreeders frequently summer in winter range (AOU 1983).
Occurrences Comments
Number of EOs is an estimate since this species has a circumpolar distribution and does not breed colonially. This combination requires a large number of EOs to attain a ppopulation size estimate of almost 700,000 birds (Birdlife International, 2014).
Threat Impact Comments
Breeding habitat seems secure becasue it is far beyond most human occupation and development at this time (Paulson, 1995), although this may change with climate change. Some nonbreeding habitats may be lost due to filling and dredging though.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

BREEDING: Preferred nesting habitat is wet tundra adjacent to dry or stony ground; selects nest sites in light-colored moss and lichens (Johnson and Herter 1989). NON-BREEDING: mudflats, beaches, salinas, wet savanna, shores of ponds and lakes, wet meadows, flooded fields; sometimes mangroves or rocky shores (Stiles and Skutch 1989).

Ecology

Usually seen alone or in small flocks. May form large flocks to loaf or sleep (Stiles and Skutch 1989). Nesting density in Nunavut varied from 0.3 to 1.0 pairs per square kilometer on Devon Island (Hussell and Page 1976), to 1.2 to 2.3 pairs per square kilometer on Jenny Lind Island (Parmelee et al. 1967).

Reproduction

Breeding begins late May in southwest to late June in north (Harrison 1978). Both sexes usually incubate 4 eggs for 26-27 days. Nestlings precocial. Young tended by both parents; parent depart before fledging at about 23 days.
Terrestrial Habitats
SavannaGrassland/herbaceousTundraCropland/hedgerow
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN3B,N5N
ProvinceRankNative
Yukon TerritoryS3MYes
Nova ScotiaS3MYes
AlbertaSUMYes
OntarioS4MYes
New BrunswickS3MYes
QuebecS4MYes
ManitobaS4MYes
Island of NewfoundlandS3MYes
Prince Edward IslandS3MYes
NunavutS3BYes
British ColumbiaS5NYes
Northwest TerritoriesS2Yes
SaskatchewanS4MYes
LabradorS3MYes
United StatesN5B,N5N
ProvinceRankNative
MassachusettsS4NYes
VermontSNAYes
PennsylvaniaS4MYes
IowaS4NYes
IllinoisSNAYes
MinnesotaSNRMYes
AlabamaS4NYes
WisconsinSNAYes
MaineS4NYes
TennesseeS4NYes
DelawareS4NYes
OklahomaS2NYes
IdahoS1MYes
KansasS3NYes
AlaskaS4BYes
FloridaS4NYes
OregonSNAYes
South CarolinaS3NYes
New YorkSNRNYes
ConnecticutSNAYes
LouisianaS5NYes
North DakotaSNAYes
MississippiS4NYes
IndianaSNAYes
Rhode IslandSNAYes
MontanaSNAYes
Navajo NationS3MYes
MarylandS3NYes
VirginiaSNRNYes
MissouriSNAYes
WyomingS4NYes
CaliforniaSNRNYes
District of ColumbiaS1NYes
HawaiiSNAYes
WashingtonS4NYes
MichiganSNRNYes
GeorgiaS5Yes
New JerseyS4NYes
New HampshireSNAYes
North CarolinaS5NYes
OhioSNAYes
ColoradoS4NYes
TexasS4Yes
NevadaS4NYes
ArizonaS2MYes
South DakotaSNAYes
UtahSNAYes
ArkansasS2MYes
NebraskaSNRNYes
New MexicoS4NYes
West VirginiaSNAYes
KentuckySNAYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
11 - Climate change & severe weatherPervasive (71-100%)UnknownLow (long-term)
11.1 - Habitat shifting & alterationPervasive (71-100%)UnknownLow (long-term)

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Roadless Areas (20)
Alaska (12)
AreaForestAcres
Chilkat-West Lynn CanalTongass National Forest199,772
Copper River WetlandsChugach National Forest85,972
Fidalgo-GravinaChugach National Forest257,968
Kenai MountainsChugach National Forest306,600
Middle KruzofTongass National Forest14,724
Nellie JuanChugach National Forest713,697
North BaranofTongass National Forest314,089
North EtolinTongass National Forest40,993
North KruzofTongass National Forest33,146
RedoubtTongass National Forest68,347
Sitka UrbanTongass National Forest112,003
South KruzofTongass National Forest55,193
California (3)
AreaForestAcres
Glass MountainInyo National Forest52,867
Little PineLos Padres National Forest1,315
Malduce BuckhornLos Padres National Forest14,177
Florida (1)
AreaForestAcres
Alexander Springs CreekOcala National Forest2,954
Idaho (1)
AreaForestAcres
Bear CreekCaribou-Targhee National Forest118,582
Montana (1)
AreaForestAcres
Freezeout MountainBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest97,305
Oregon (1)
AreaForestAcres
TahkenitchSiuslaw National Forest5,799
Tennessee (1)
AreaForestAcres
Flint Mill GapCherokee National Forest9,494
References (37)
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