Black-bellied Plover

(Pluvialis squatarola) (BBPL)

Photographic Identification Guide

Known as Grey Plover in the Old World—due to the gray mantle of its winter or basic plumage—Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) (BBPL) is a circumpolar species with extremely different plumages at different times of year.

In this guide, we cover the features, in order of importance, to look for on these birds. When discussing plumages, we use the terms winter, spring, and summer to refer to northern hemisphere seasons. Because some of these birds spend parts of the year in the northern and southern hemispheres, the correct technical terms for the plumage stages—basic and alternate—help avoid the confusion of seasonal terminology.

visual gallery

species account

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Fig. 1. Black-bellied Plover. Worn and faded basic plumage. Parker River NWR, Newburyport, MA. 2 June 2022.
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Fig. 2. Black-bellied Plover. Spring (alternate) male. Black undersides extend just past legs. Bolivar Peninsula, TX. 10 May 2015.
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Fig. 3. Black-bellied Plover. Spring (alternate) male. Note white under the tail. Bolivar Peninsula, TX. 11 May 2015.
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Fig. 4. Black-bellied Plover. Molting and worn summer (alternate) plumage. Westport, MA. 24 August 2013.
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Fig. 5. Black-bellied Plovers in variety of molting plumages. Massachusetts, fall.
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Fig. 6. Black-bellied Plover in flight. Note tail with barred black-and-white pattern at tip and white wing stripe. First Encounter Beach, Eastham, MA. 12 August 2021.
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Fig. 7. Black-bellied Plover juvenile. Note hallux (rear toe), unique to this species of Pluvialis plovers. Winthrop Beach, Winthrop, MA. 19 September 2014.
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Fig. 8. Black-bellied Plover juveniles. Breast markings are primarily vertical streaks. Winthrop Beach, Winthrop, MA. 6 November 2017.
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Fig. 9. Black-bellied Plover. Juvenile in flight, dorsal view. Parker River NWR, Newburyport, MA. 8 December 2021.
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Fig. 10. Black-bellied Plover. Juvenile in flight. Race Point, Provincetown, MA. 16 September 2017.
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Fig. 11. Comparison of underwing pattern of Black-bellied Plovers (black axillars, inset) and American Golden-Plover (gray underwings). Winthrop Beach, Winthrop, MA. 29 October 2019.
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Fig. 12. American Golden Plovers (AMGP) and Black-bellied Plover (BBPL) in juvenile plumage. Note larger bill on BBPL, browner overall look and dark cap on AMGP. Winthrop Beach, Winthrop, MA. 25 September 2017.
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Fig. 13. Comparison of Black-bellied Plover (BBPL) and American Golden-Plover (AMGP). Note bull neck and heavy bill of BBPL. Fishermans Bend, Winthrop, MA. 18 September 2021.
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Fig. 14. Comparison of winter (basic) plumaged Black-bellied Plover and Willet. Bolivar Peninsula, TX. 5 November 2019.

The photos in this species account are arranged in this order:

Basic: winter plumage, roughly November to March.

BBPL acquires winter (basic) plumage toward the end of the calendar year, usually when it approaches or arrives at its winter range. Depending on the age or ultimate winter habitat of an individual, basic plumage may be acquired earlier in fall or retained late into spring; see Fig. 1.

Alternate: first spring and summer after hatch year or adult breeding plumage, March to October.

Beginning in spring, winter (basic) feathers on BBPL are gradually replaced by spring (alternate) feathers; see Fig. 2, Fig. 3. Most alternate feathers last until fall of the same year but they display wear by July or August; see Fig. 4, Fig. 5. The molt to full winter (basic) plumage continues throughout the fall. Among different individuals, the molt schedule and pattern vary based on whether that bird winters in the southern or northern hemisphere.

Juvenile: young birds, recently hatched, July to October.

See Fig. 7, Fig. 8.

These feathers are acquired on the breeding grounds immediately after the natal down is shed and before the young begin their migration.

Size and weight

Body length:

10.6–11.8 in. (27–30 cm)

Wingspan:

29–32 in. (74–81 cm)

Bill length:

0.9–1.3 in. (24–34 mm)

Weight:

5.6–9.8 oz. (160–277 g)

Calls

Far-reaching, musical three-syllable oo-ood-lee call often heard when birds fly overhead.

Calls in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ, 2020:

Calls in Merritt Island NWR, FL, 2022:

Plumage and other characteristics

BBPL has a large head atop a sturdy, thick neck.

BBPL’s bill is thick and short; see Fig. 1.

Winter (basic) plumage of BBPL, as with most winter shorebirds, is brownish gray on the back (mantle), whitish below. Gray mantle feathers have pale zigzag margins and are bisected by a darker center shaft; see Fig. 1, Fig. 14.

BBPL in flight display: black axillars (wingpits), white tail with barred tip, bold white wing stripes as seen from above; see Fig. 6, Fig. 9, Fig. 10, Fig. 11.

Spring and summer (alternate) plumaged adults acquire strikingly black underparts from belly to face. Back (mantle) and tops of wings are strongly checkered. The pale top of the head has a smattering of grayish or blackish streaks; see Fig. 2 and Fig. 3.

Males in alternate plumage have solid black underparts. Females are grayer in the face and somewhat more mottled on the belly.

Spring (alternate) and summer (alternate) are the same plumage; however, as seasons advance, feather margins become worn and the plumage looks different.

The molt schedule from winter (basic) to spring (alternate) plumage, and the reverse, from summer (alternate) to winter (basic), is partially dependent on whether the bird winters in the southern or the northern hemisphere. This and the variability of mottling of the undersides in summer (alternate) plumage, due to feather wear and abrasion after the breeding season, lead to a bewildering array of different looking plumages; see Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. Note that the undertail is white in all plumages, distinguishing this species from American Golden-Plover.

Newly fledged young birds arrive from the Arctic in late summer, displaying a fresh, checkered back (mantle); see Fig. 7.

Upper breast and neck markings are primarily vertical streaks on juvenile birds, although they may look complex on some individuals; see Fig. 8.

BBPL is the only one of the four Pluvialis plovers with a hallux (rear toe), which is about 5% to 20% the length of the front-facing toes and usually hard to see; see Fig. 7. (The other Pluvialis plovers are the three golden-plover species.)

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Breeding range, migration, wintering range, habitat

BBPL is a circumpolar breeding species, nesting along most of the shores of the Arctic Ocean with the exception of Greenland. Breeding areas are low elevation tundra with scattered trees or bushes.

Winter range includes nearly all marine coasts throughout the world, as well as many inland locations such as wet or flooded agricultural fields. In the tropics, BBPL sometimes roosts in mangrove trees.

In spring, most Black-bellied Plovers migrate along the coast, appearing in Massachusetts and other New England sites in mid-May, then departing rapidly for breeding habitats in the Arctic.

After the breeding season, adults heading south reappear on New England shores in July and August. Juveniles begin arriving in mid-September and peak in October. Most depart gradually through the later fall months, but a few linger and some winter along the New England coast.

During migration, BBPL feeds along sandy beaches and coastal mudflats during low tide. BBPL forages in a stop and start manner, standing upright for a while before running forward to peck at the sand or mud.

BBPL’s food in breeding areas consists primarily of insects. In migration and in wintering areas, food items are more varied, consisting of mud worms, bivalves and crustaceans.

At high tide, BBPL roosts on higher dunes, in salt marshes or salt pans, or on jetties and breakwaters, often with other shorebirds.

Similar species

BBPL compared to AMGP

Black-bellied Plover (BBPL) and American Golden-Plover (AMGP) are somewhat similar in size and shape. In New England, BBPL is likely to be the only plover of its size and shape in spring. In fall, many American Golden-Plovers migrate far offshore or down the center of the continent, but there are frequent sightings of individuals or flocks in New England farms or along the coast in September and later. It is useful to learn to distinguish the two species in late summer and fall.

Note the following:

In flight, the axillars (wingpits) of BBPL are black. On AMGP, the entire underwing is gray; see Fig. 10, Fig. 11.
In flight, the upperparts of BBPL contrast: a mostly gray or dark back (mantle) with a white base to the tail and barring at the tip of the tail, and strong white stripes on gray wings; see Fig. 6, Fig. 9, Fig. 10. Upperparts of AMGP are uniformly dusky with faint, pale wing stripes; see AMGP Fig. 11, AMGP Fig. 12.
With standing or sitting birds, note AMGP’s small dove-like head vs. the bulky bull-necked look of BBPL; see Fig. 13.
BBPL juvenile is gray and white; AMGP juvenile is mostly brown and white, sometimes with golden (yellowish) spots on the back (mantle); see Fig. 12.
Bill of BBPL is thicker and longer than AMGP’s bill; see Fig. 13.

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BBPL compared to WILL

Roosting shorebirds in winter (basic) plumage present identification challenges, particularly if the legs or bill cannot be seen. Black-bellied Plover (BBPL) and Willet (WILL) have similar sized bodies and similar shapes. If the bill is hidden, as in Fig. 14, the two birds can often be separated:

BBPL winter (basic) mantle feathers are gray with pale zigzag margins.
WILL winter (basic) mantle is plain gray with no pattern, discernible in this photo even though out of focus.

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BBPL compared to GRYE

Black-bellied Plover (BBPL) and Greater Yellowlegs (GRYE) are hardly similar when they are active or in flight. However, in winter, when roosting with heads tucked, bills hidden and perhaps legs invisible due to obstruction, the body shape and overall winter (basic) plumage is similar enough to cause confusion.

BBPL has brownish-gray markings on the neck and upper breast; GRYE is streaked on the upper neck.
BBPL has some pale feathers above the eye and no eye ring; GRYE has a distinct eye ring.