Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) lives in arctic tundra across North America. It feeds on insects & crustaceans. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Semipalmated Plover
- A semipalmated plover weighs just under a deck of cards, with males averaging 47.4 g and females 46.1 g, while individuals range from 37.6 g to 54.7 g. Its body measures 17-19 cm long and its wing length is about 12-13 cm, yet the same species is listed as 18.4 cm in length with a 48.3 cm wingspan and a 45 g average weight elsewhere. It uses the rapid "broken-wing" distraction display at the nest.
- During the breeding months of early May to late August, semipalmated plovers occupy Arctic and sub-Arctic tundra from Alaska across to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, then embark on a continental trek. From September to late April they winter along the Pacific coasts of southern California, Mexico, Colombia and Chile, and also hug the Atlantic shoreline from southern Virginia to southern Florida.
- A pair builds a nest and lays a clutch of four eggs, each about 33 mm long, 23 mm wide and weighing 8.7-9.4 g; the eggs are laid at 24- to 30-hour intervals and the full clutch is completed within five days. Both parents share incubation for 23-25 days, after which hatchlings emerge weighing roughly 6.6 g. The chicks are precocial, walking and feeding within hours, and they fledge after 22-30 days.
- The longest-recorded wild semipalmated plover lived to nine years, and about 15 % of breeding birds are already five to six years old, showing that a minority survive multiple Arctic breeding cycles. However, 99.2 % of examined individuals carried internal parasites, the highest infection rate among five studied shorebirds in Churchill, Manitoba. Heavy parasite loads, combined with cold-induced weight loss, limit average lifespan and highlight the species' vulnerability to environmental stressors.
- When a predator approaches the nest, the adult performs a dramatic "broken-wing" display, feigning injury to draw the threat away, an instinct shared with the killdeer but executed by a much smaller bird. In winter, roosting flocks can swell to 1,100 individuals, though they are usually far smaller. On the wing, the plover can reach 52 km/h in strong winds, and on the ground it runs 4-8 m per minute, giving it the speed needed to chase insects and evade danger.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeNorth America
HabitatArctic tundra
DietInsects & crustaceans
About the Semipalmated Plover
As the tide ebbs and flows across the vast, sandy expanses of its coastal habitat, the Semipalmated Plover dances with effortless elegance, its slender legs a blur of motion as it pursues the tiny crustaceans and mollusks that lie hidden beneath the surface. With an air of quiet purpose, this diminutive bird moves through the world, its large, dark eyes ever-vigilant for the slightest sign of movement, its gentle, piping calls carried away on the salty breeze. In its annual migrations, the Semipalmated Plover undertakes a journey of thousands of miles, a testament to its remarkable endurance and unwavering resolve.
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