Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)
About the Piping Plover
The piping plover (Charadrius melodus) is a small, sand-colored shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange-red legs, a black band across the forehead from eye to eye, and a black stripe running along the breast line. This chest band is usually thicker in males during the breeding season, and it is the only reliable way to tell the sexes apart. The bird is difficult to see when it is standing still, as it blends well with open, sandy beach habitats. It typically runs in short, quick spurts and then stops.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 27 recordings for this species: 2 CC BY-NC-SA · 2 CC BY-NC-ND. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in Canada, United States in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Related species you can hear
- Common Ringed PloverCharadrius hiaticularecording
- Eurasian DotterelCharadrius morinellusrecording
- Kentish PloverCharadrius alexandrinusrecording
- KilldeerCharadrius vociferusrecording
- Little Ringed PloverCharadrius dubiusrecording
- Semipalmated PloverCharadrius semipalmatusrecording
This species has no recording here yet — these relatives do, so you can hear what the family sounds like.