Grey plover

Scientific name: Pluvialis squatarola

How weight is recorded: Whole weight

Field notes

Appearance

Small compact plover with distinctive black-and-white breeding plumage on males; females and non-breeding birds show grey-brown upper parts and white underparts. The species has a characteristic rounded head, short neck, and relatively long legs compared to other small plovers, with a grey-black bill and prominent eye-stripe.

Size and weight

Adults typically weigh 150–250 g, with body length 27–30 cm; minimal sexual dimorphism in size, though males often show more vivid breeding plumage.

Habitat

Grey plovers occupy open coastal and inland wetlands, including mudflats, salt marshes, sandy beaches, and tundra during breeding season. They favour exposed, sparsely vegetated terrain with short grass or bare ground for nesting and foraging.

Distribution

Circumpolar Arctic and subarctic breeder with populations wintering along temperate and tropical coastlines worldwide. Migrants pass through inland and coastal wetlands; distribution shifts between breeding grounds in high latitudes and coastal wintering grounds at lower latitudes.

Diet

Feeds primarily on small invertebrates including insects, spiders, crustaceans, and marine worms obtained by visual foraging on exposed ground and mudflats; dietary composition varies with season and habitat availability.

Behaviour

Diurnal and crepuscular forager, often active during low tide when mudflats are exposed; highly gregarious outside breeding season, forming loose flocks and sometimes mixing with other wader species. Birds are alert and mobile, running and stopping in characteristic plover fashion when feeding.

Hunting tips

Locate birds on open mudflats and sandy shores by scanning with binoculars at dawn and dusk when they are most active. Approach from behind cover (dunes, vegetation fringing) or across open ground at low crouch, using natural undulations in terrain. Birds rely on visual detection; move slowly during their feeding pauses and freeze during alert phases, as they flush readily when approached directly.

Whole weight

This species is logged by whole weight — the animal weighed entire, as taken.

Where it is hunted

Listed as huntable in 1 country in Huntify.

France

Names in other languages

These field notes are general species knowledge, not legal advice. Always check the current seasons, quotas and firearm rules where you hunt.