Plover

The taxonomy of family Charadriidae is unsettled. At various times the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings of family Charadriidae have been distributed among several subfamilies, with Charadriinae including most of the species. The International Ornithological Congress (IOC) and the Clements taxonomy do not assign species to subfamilies.{{cite web |url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/buttonquail/|title=Buttonquail, thick-knees, sheathbills, plovers, oystercatchers, stilts, painted-snipes, jacanas, Plains-wanderer, seedsnipes |website=IOC World Bird List | version= v 14.2 |last1=Gill |first1= F. |last2=Donsker|first2=D.|last3=Rasmussen |first3=P. |date=August 2024 |access-date=August 20, 2024 }}{{Cite web |title=2023 Citation & Downloadable Checklists – Clements Checklist |url=https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/introduction/updateindex/october-2023/download/ |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=www.birds.cornell.edu}} The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (AOS) includes all of the species in Charadriinae.{{Cite web |title=South American Classification Committee |url=https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=www.museum.lsu.edu}} The North American Classification Committee of the AOS and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World separate the four members of genus Pluvialis as subfamily Pluvialinae.{{cite journal | last1 = Sangster | first1 = G. | last2 = Knox | first2 = A. G. | last3 = Helbig | first3 = A. J. | last4 = Parkin | first4 = D. T. | year = 2002 | title = Taxonomic recommendations for European birds | journal = Ibis | volume = 144 | issue = 1| pages = 153–159 | doi = 10.1046/j.0019-1019.2001.00026.x }}{{Cite web |title=AOU Checklist of North and Middle American Birds |url=https://checklist.americanornithology.org/taxa/ |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=checklist.americanornithology.org}}{{Cite web |title=Data Zone - BirdLife International |url=https://datazone.birdlife.org/home |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=datazone.birdlife.org}}

The IOC recognizes these 69 species of plovers, dotterels, and lapwings in family Charadriidae. They are distributed among 11 genera, some of which have only one species. This list is presented according to the IOC taxonomic sequence and can also be sorted alphabetically by common name and binomial.

Plovers are found throughout the world, with the exception of the Sahara and the polar regions, and are characterised by relatively short bills. They hunt by sight, rather than by feel as longer-billed waders like snipes do. They feed mainly on insects, worms or other invertebrates, depending on the habitat, which are obtained by a run-and-pause technique, rather than the steady probing of some other wader groups.{{cite book | last = Perrins | first = Christopher | author-link = Christopher Perrins | title = The New Encyclopedia of Birds | publisher = Oxford U. P. | year = 2003 | isbn = 978-0-19-852506-6 }} {{page needed|date=January 2019}} Plovers engage in false brooding, a type of distraction display. Examples include pretending to change position or to sit on an imaginary nest site.

The European golden plover{{cite web|url=https://www.icenews.is/2017/03/27/the-golden-plover-has-arrived-indicating-spring-in-iceland/ |title=The Golden Plover has arrived, indicating spring in Iceland |date=March 27, 2017 |website=IceNews - Daily News |access-date=4 April 2018}} spends summers in Iceland, and in Icelandic folklore, the appearance of the first plover in the country means that spring has arrived. The Icelandic media always covers the first plover sighting.{{cite web|url=http://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/news/2017/03/27/spring_has_arrived_in_iceland_according_to_folklore/|title=Spring has arrived in Iceland, according to folklore |website=mbl.is|access-date=4 April 2018}}

• Egyptian plover

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{{Commons category|Plovers}}

{{Wikispecies|Charadriinae}}

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