Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)

Bahamas (NB), Barbados (NB), Bermuda (NB), Canada (B) (P), Cuba (NB), Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica (NB), Mexico (NB), Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico (NB) (P), St Pierre and Miquelon (B), Turks and Caicos Islands (NB), USA (B), Virgin Islands (British) (NB), Virgin Islands (U.S.) (NB).

Vagrant to Antigua and Barbuda, Ecuador, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and The Grenadines (NB).

Northern Great Plains, Great Lakes and Atlantic coast from Newfoundland south to North Carolina. Winters on Atlantic coast of southern USA, Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas and rather locally in Greater Antilles; also western Mexico.

Population
Estimated population is 6,400 (2010) and increasing.

Status NT
Inappropriate water and beach management, development and disturbance are the main threats.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Voice
A plaintive whistle, 'peep' or a descending 'peep-lo'.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (23)...)

Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) [XC328023]
by Patrick Turgeon from Loreburn No. 254 (near Loreburn), Division No. 11, Saskatchewan, Canada (call)

Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) [XC160406]
by Paul Marvin from Chaplin Lake, SK, Canada (call)

Subspecies
In past, two subspecies recognized on basis of extent of breast band, with nominate (coastal nesters), and circumcinctus (Great Lakes and prairies), but subdivision rendered unsatisfactory due to considerable individual and seasonal variation.

The following 2 subspecies are recognised:

circumcinctus (Ridgway, 1874) - South-central Canada, north-central USA.
melodus Ord, 1824 - Eastern Canada and US. Winters south-eastern US, Bahamas and Gr. Antilles.

Similar Species
Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) which is smaller with blackish legs and thinner bill.

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

For more information about the Piping Plover see... Show Articles

BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Articles about the Piping Plover

If you would like to read any articles about the Piping Plover...

Show Articles (0)

No Pictures of Piping Plover

If Birdpedia has no pictures of Piping Plover or you would like to see more, then try the following...

Show External Images from BING

From BING (10)

No Videos of Piping Plover

If Birdpedia has no videos of Piping Plover or you would like to see more, then try the following..

Show External Videos

From BING (0)

Where can I observe this species?

Select an area (or leave blank) to see locations where this species has been recorded.

Area

All

Optional: Complete the following if you wish to restrict the reserve to within a given distance of a location.

Please enter the Latitude and Longitiude of a given location together with the maximum distance (km) to display a list of reserves within that distance. You must enter a Latitude, a Longitude and a distance greater than 0.

Latitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)

Deg	Min	Sec			Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
				or	GPS help

Longitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)

Deg	Min	Sec			Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
				or	Find GPS using Google Maps

Distance	Bearing
		Get Sample GPS readings

On What Field Trips was this species observed?

Select an area (or leave blank), and a date range, to see field trips on which this species has been recorded.

Area

All

From	To

Latitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)

Deg	Min	Sec			Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
				or	GPS help

Longitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)

Deg	Min	Sec			Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
				or

Distance	Bearing
		Get Sample GPS readings

Latest Sightings for Piping Plover