Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus)
About the Snowy Plover
The snowy plover (Anarhynchus nivosus, formerly Charadrius nivosus) is a small shorebird found in the Americas. It is a member of the bird family Charadriidae, which includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings. The snowy plover was originally described by John Cassin in 1858, but was classified as a subspecies of the Kentish plover in 1922. Since 2011, the snowy plover has been recognized as a distinct species based on genetic and anatomical differences from the Kentish plover. Two or three subspecies are recognized, distributed along the Pacific coast of North America, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile, in several inland areas of the US and Mexico, along the Gulf Coast, and on Caribbean islands. The coastal populations consist of both residential and migratory birds, whereas the inland populations are mostly migratory. It is one of the best studied endemic shorebirds of the Americas, and one of the rarest.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 39 recordings for this species: 4 CC BY-NC-SA · 1 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 Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, 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.