Wilson's Plover Anarhynchus wilsonia Scientific name definitions

The Wilson's Plover is a medium-sized shorebird that is closely associated with coastal areas. It breeds along the Atlantic Coast from Virginia south, throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, to northwestern Brazil, and on the Pacific Coast from southern Baja California south to northern Peru. It has a single breast band and is easily distinguished from similar plovers by its heavy black bill and larger size. Also known as the Thick-billed Plover, this species was named for Alexander Wilson, who collected the type specimen in May 1813 at Cape May, New Jersey, where this species was (and still is) only a rare visitor.

The Wilson's Plover nests on sparsely to densely vegetated saline areas, including beaches above high tide, dune areas, and edges of lagoons. Breeding pairs are territorial during the nesting season, and may engage in group defense of their nesting areas. During the nonbreeding season, individuals congregate for roosting and foraging in groups ranging from a few birds to several hundred, primarily with other species of small plovers. Wilson's Plover feeds primarily on crustaceans, particularly fiddler crabs (Uca spp.), but it also feeds on insects, worms, and other invertebrates.

Studies from Texas, Georgia, and Louisiana by Bergstrom (1 Bergstrom, P. W. (1981). Male incubation in Wilson's Plover (Charadrius wilsonia). Auk 98:835-838. Close , 2 Bergstrom, P. W. (1982). Ecology of incubation in Wilson's Plover (Charadrius wilsonius). Ph.d. thesis, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA. Close , 3 Bergstrom, P. W. (1986). Daylight incubation sex roles in Wilson's Plover. Condor 88:113-115. Close , 4 Bergstrom, P. W. (1988a). Breeding biology of Wilson's Plovers. Wilson Bulletin 100:25-35. Close , 5 Bergstrom, P. W. (1988b). Breeding displays and vocalizations of Wilson's Plovers. Wilson Bulletin 100:36-49. Close , 6 Bergstrom, P. W. (1989). Incubation temperatures of Wilson's Plovers and Killdeers. Condor 91:634-641. Close ), Corbat (7 Corbat, C. A. (1990). Nesting ecology of selected beach-nesting birds in Georgia. Phd Thesis, Univ. of Georgia, Athens. Close ), and Zdravkovic (8 Zdravkovic, M. G. (2013). Conservation Plan for the Wilson’s Plover (Charadrius wilsonia). Version 1.0. Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, Manomet, MA, USA. Close ) have provided important information on breeding biology. Studies of feeding behavior, activity budget, and habitat use have been conducted in Venezuela and the U.S. Gulf Coast (9 Morrier, A. and R. McNeil. (1991). Time-activity budget of Wilson's and Semipalmated plovers in a tropical environment. Wilson Bulletin 103:598-620. Close , 10 Thibault, M. and R. McNeil. (1994). Daylight variation in habitat use by Wilson's Plovers in northeastern Venezuela. Wilson Bulletin 106:299-310. Close , 11 Thibault, M. and R. McNeil. (1995). Predator-prey relationship between Wilson's Plovers and Fiddler Crabs in northeastern Venezuela. Wilson Bulletin 107:73-80. Close , 8 Zdravkovic, M. G. (2013). Conservation Plan for the Wilson’s Plover (Charadrius wilsonia). Version 1.0. Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, Manomet, MA, USA. Close ). Little is known about the migration routes, life span, or lifetime reproductive success of the species. There are no population data for subspecies A. w. cinnamominus, A. w. beldingi, or A. w. crassirostris, which all breed south of the United States. Current subspecies designations warrant further study and DNA analysis.

Within the United States, monitoring data indicate both a declining population and a contracting range for the Wilson's Plover. Loss of beach habitat from urbanization and other human development is one of the primary threats to this species. Disturbance to nesting areas from beach-recreation and management is also a significant cause of population decline. As a coastal-obligate shorebird, the Wilson's Plover is also particularly susceptible to rising sea levels.