Plovers ( , ) are members of a widely distributed group of wading

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s of subfamily Charadriinae. The term "plover" applies to all the members of the subfamily, though only about half of them include it in their name.

Species list in taxonomic sequence

The taxonomy of family Charadriidae is unsettled. At various times the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings of family Charadriidae have been distributed among several subfamilies, with Charadriinae including most of the species. The

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(IOC) and the

Clements taxonomy ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World'' is a book by Jim Clements which presents a list of the bird species of the world. The most recent printed version is the sixth edition (2007), but has been updated yearly, the last version in 202 ...

do not assign species to subfamilies. The South American Classification Committee of the

American Ornithological Society The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its ...

(AOS) includes all of the species in Charadriinae. The North American Classification Committee of the AOS and

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's ''

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'' separate the four members of genus ''Pluvialis'' as subfamily Pluvialinae. The IOC recognizes these 69 species of plovers, dotterels, and lapwings in family Charadriidae. They are distributed among 11 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.

Description

Plovers are found throughout the world, with the exception of the

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and the

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, 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. ''Gallinago'' snipe have a nearly ...

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 antipredator adaptation, 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 ...

. Examples include pretending to change position or to sit on an imaginary nest site.

In folklore

The

European golden plover The European golden plover (''Pluvialis apricaria''), also known as the Eurasian golden plover, or just the golden plover within Europe, is a relatively large species of plover. This species is similar to two other golden plovers, the American ...

spends summers in

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, and in

Icelandic folklore Nordic folklore is the folklore of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. It has common roots with, and has been under mutual influence with, folklore in England, Germany, the Low Countries, the Baltic countries, Finland and Sáp ...

, the appearance of the first plover in the country means that spring has arrived. The Icelandic media always covers the first plover sighting.

Species list in taxonomic sequence

Description

In folklore

See also

References