Black-bellied Plover

Pluvialis squatarola

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Charadriiformes Family: Charadriidae Genus: Pluvialis

About

The grey plover (Pluvialis squatarola), known as the black-bellied plover in North America, is a medium-sized plover breeding in Arctic regions. It is a long-distance migrant, with a nearly worldwide coastal distribution when not breeding. The genus name is Latin and means relating to rain, from pluvia, "rain". It was believed that golden plovers flocked when rain was imminent. The species name squatarola is a Latinised version of Sgatarola, a Venetian name for some kind of...