Grey Plover

Pluvialis squatarola

Other Names

  Black-bellied Plover, Silver Plover   Pluvier argenté   Kiebitzregenpfeifer   Chorlito Gris   Kustpipare   Zilverplevier   Pivieressa

World: Widespread worldwide. In the Northern hemisphere breeds in Arctic Russia, Alaska, Baffin Islands and Melville Peninsula. Migrates south to winter in many coastal areas including N and S America, Western Europe, Africa, Indonesia, southern Asia and Australia.

Kenya: Common passage migrant along the coast. Occasionally seen on the Rift Valley lakes.

This is an easily identified shoreline wader. It is a large, stocky Plover with a short, stout bill. It also appears more lethargic than other waders. It has a varied diet consisting of insects (adult and larvae) and other invertebrates, in the Tundra it is also known to eat seeds and stems. When foraging it occasionally flicks mud into the air when exposing its prey.