Wilson's Plover (Charadrius wilsonia)

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A Field Guide to Eastern Birds. by Roger Tory Peterson.

Return to Eastern Plovers

Summer Plummage

Color Photograph: Copyright Robert Benson, Center for Bioacoustics, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

Winter Plummage

Color Photograph: © by and courtesy of John Cassady

Wilson's Plover (Charadrius wilsonia)

Identification: Length from tip of bill to tip of tail 7 to 8 inches.

Male: Back and crown of head brown. Head with a white line running from the forehead under the brown crown and a dark brown band running from the base of the bill, through the eye, to the back of the neck. Bill relatively strong and elongate. Base of neck with a dark brown, wide collar. Neck and undersides pure white.

Female: Similar to the male, but the neck collar brown, not dark brown.

Similar Species:  Wilson's Plover is most likely to be confused with the Semipalmated Plover. The Semipalmated Plover is a consistently smaller species. More importantly its bill is weaker, short and stubby, with an orange-yellow base.

Breeding Range (see map below): Wilson's Plover is resident or breeds along the Atlantic Coast from southern New Jersey to southern Florida, and westward along the Gulf Coast to southeasten Texas.

Overwintering Range:  See above.

Habitat: This species is found on sandy beaches and mudflats.

Food: Littoral marine vertebrates including small crabs, worms, and crustaceans.

Behavior: Wilson's Plover is a rare bird of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast. The species is usually silent, but sometimes is a whistled wheet.

Reproduction:  The clutch consists of 3 to 4 tan eggs with small, black spots or blotches. The eggs are laid in a depression in the sand.