Identification

• Plovers typically have short bills, moderately long legs and short necks. Most commonly they have white on the underside, darker feathers on their back and a dark band across the chest.
  
  

Diet

• These shore birds feed on small mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic worms and insects by what is known as foot stirring or foot trembling. They quickly tap one foot on the sand, making enough vibration to cause their prey to move.
  
  

Nesting

• Plover in its scrape nestImage by Flickr.com, courtesy of Mike Baird
  
  The male secures a nesting territory. The female lays three or four eggs, depending on the race of the plover. The male and female share the responsibility of incubation, but the female leaves the nest within two or three weeks after the chicks are born.
  
  

Fun Fact

• Plovers build scrape nests to lay and incubate eggs. Scrape nests are shallow indentations in the sand filled with shell fragments and bits from nearby plants.
  
  

Warning

• The piping plover and mountain plover are considered endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.