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Plovers ( , ) are a widely distributed group of wading
Plover videos, photographs & sounds
on the Internet Bird Collection {{Taxonbar, from=Q139321 *
Plovers ( , ) are a widely distributed group of wading bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
s belonging to the subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classifica ...
Charadriinae.
Description
There are about 66 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel
The Eurasian dotterel (''Charadrius morinellus''), also known in Europe as just dotterel, is a small wader in the plover family of birds.
The dotterel is a brown and black streaked bird with a broad white eye-stripe and an orange-red chest ban ...
". The closely related lapwing
Lapwings (subfamily Vanellinae) are any of various ground-nesting birds (family Charadriidae) akin to plovers and dotterels. They range from in length, and are noted for their slow, irregular wingbeats in flight and a shrill, wailing cry. A gro ...
subfamily, Vanellinae, comprises about 20 species.
Plovers are found throughout the world, with the exception of the Sahara
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and the polar regions
The polar regions, also called the frigid zones or polar zones, of Earth are the regions of the planet that surround its geographical poles (the North and South Poles), lying within the polar circles. These high latitudes are dominated by floa ...
, and are characterised by relatively short bills. They hunt by sight, rather than by feel as longer-billed waders like snipe
A snipe is any of about 26 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and cryptic/ camouflaging plumage. The '' Gallinago'' snipes have ...
s do. They feed mainly on insects, worms or other invertebrates, depending on the habitat, which are obtained by a run-and-pause technique, rather than the steady probing of some other wader groups. Plovers engage in false brooding, a type of distraction display
Distraction displays, also known as diversionary displays, or paratrepsis are anti-predator behaviors used to attract the attention of an enemy away from something, typically the nest or young, that is being protected by a parent. Distraction disp ...
. Examples include pretending to change position or to sit on an imaginary nest site.
Species list in taxonomic sequence
TheInternational Ornithological Committee
The International Ornithologists' Union, formerly known as the International Ornithological Committee, is a group of about 200 international ornithologists, and is responsible for the International Ornithological Congress and other international ...
(IOC) recognizes these 45 species of plovers and dotterels. They are distributed among 10 genera, some of which have only one species.
This list is presented according to the IOC taxonomic sequence and can also be sorted alphabetically by common name and binomial.
In folklore
The European golden plover spends summers inIceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...
, and in Icelandic folklore, the appearance of the first plover in the country means that spring has arrived. The Icelandic media always covers the first plover sighting.
A rare habit of a species that migrates every year to the Ozogoche lagoons, in southern Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
, occurs between September and October, when hundreds of plovers (called 'cuvivíes' in that area) swoop down and dive into the icy waters of the lagoons, where they die of hypothermia
Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe ...
, a suicidal behavior for which no scientific explanation has been found so far.
References
External links
Plover videos, photographs & sounds
on the Internet Bird Collection {{Taxonbar, from=Q139321 *