Grey Plover
(Black-bellied Plover)
Pluvialis squatarola
IUCN status: Vulnerable
Flyway population 75000 (2022 estimate)
Grey Plovers. Port of Brisbane. Robert Bush.
Grey Plover. Perth WA. Peter Harms
Identification
Non-breeding: The upperparts have a mottled appearance because the grey-brown feathers are edged with white. The tertials and wing-coverts are also grey-brown but the feathers are notched with white giving a speckled look. The chin, throat, sides of the neck and the breast are white blotched with grey-brown. The bill is black and short with a bulge on the tip. Legs grey.
Breeding: Striking black, white and grey plumage. The supercilium, sides of neckand breast are white, contrasting with the black of the lores, ear, throat, breast and belly
Juvenile: Similar to adult but upperparts are more heavily spotted.
Confusing Species
Bar-tailed Godwit: Similar patterning on its back and its size might give some confusion, but if the bill is visible there is no confusion.
Pacific Golden Plover: The golden colouration and smaller size make for easy identification, but the overall jizz of the bird can give rise to confusion.
Distribution
Birds migrate from Australia to breeding grounds in Siberia and eastward to the Chukotka Peninsula. Long-distance migrant; as in many other shorebirds, latitude of breeding range narrow but of non-breeding range wide.
Monthly reports of Grey Plover in Queensland
Best sites in Queensland to see Grey Plover
Yearly trends in Queensland
International and Nationally Important Sites in Australia
| SBA | Year | Peak Count | International | National |
| SE Gulf of Carpentaria | 2013 | 311 | No | Yes |
| Burdekin River Delta | 2019 | 260 | No | Yes |
| Repulse Bay | 2015 | 170 | No | Yes |
| Mackay | 2015 | 167 | No | Yes |
| Moreton Bay | 2024 | 160 | No | Yes |
| Great Sandy Strait | 2015 | 134 | No | Yes |
| Bowling Green Bay | 2021 | 121 | No | Yes |
| Sand Bay | 2011 | 95 | No | Yes |
Conservation Status
EPBC listing: Vulnerable, Marine, Migratory
Conservation advice
References
- BirdLife Australia (2023). Grey Plover. [Text before updates sourced from: Marchant, S. et al (eds) 1990-2006 Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds.Volume 1 to 7.] Birdlife Australia. Birdlife Australia. Source: https://hanzab.birdlife.org.au/species/grey-plover/ Accessed: April 30, 2026 Time Zone: +10:00
- Poole, A. F., P. Pyle, M. A. Patten, and D. R. Paulson (2020). Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bkbplo.01
- eBird. 2021. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Available: http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed: Date April 30, 2026).
- Rogers A, Fuller RA & Amano T (2023) Australia’s migratory shorebirds: Trends and prospects. Report to the National Environmental Science Program. University of Queensland, Brisbane.
- van Swinderen, L., Hansen, B.D., Fuller, R.A., Watkins, D., Rogers, D.I., Clemens, R.S., Newman, M., Woehler, E.J., Weller, D.R. and LeClair, S. (2025). Revision of the East Asian – Australasian Flyway Population Estimates for 37 listed Migratory Shorebird Species. Report for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. BirdLife Australia, Melbourne.
- Driessen, J., Kidd, L. R., Weller, D. R., Purnell, C., Maguire, G., Jaensch, R., and LeClair, S. M. (2025). Australian National Directory of Important Migratory Shorebird Habitat. Report for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. BirdLife Australia, Melbourne.
- https://sparrow1963.shinyapps.io/qld_waders_all/