Wilson's Plover

Wilson's Plover is a medium-sized plover of the Americas, distinguished from other small plovers by its notably large, thick, all-black bill—an adaptation for handling fiddler crabs, its favored prey.

Adults have plain brownish-gray upperparts, white underparts, and a single dark breast band; pale pinkish-gray legs complete the look. Sexes are similar, though males often show a slightly darker, more solidly black breast band than females.

It is a specialist of undisturbed sandy and shelly beaches along warm coastlines, where it is often seen near fiddler crab burrows.

Key field marks

• Large, heavy, all-black bill—longer and thicker than in other small plovers
• Single solid dark breast band
• Plain sandy-brown upperparts, white underparts
• Dull pinkish-gray legs

Similar species

• Semipalmated Plover has a much smaller bill with an orange base and orange legs.
• Piping Plover is paler overall with orange legs and a small orange-and-black bill.
• Snowy Plover is smaller and paler with a thin black bill and incomplete breast patches.

Wilson's Plover breeds on sandy or shell beaches, sandbars, and coastal dunes along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the southeastern United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of South America.

Most populations are resident or make only short-distance movements, though northern breeders may shift south along the coast in winter. It favors open, sparsely vegetated beach habitat close to tidal flats where fiddler crabs are abundant.

Voice

A sharp, whistled whit or wheet and a rapid rattling call given in alarm or during territorial encounters.

Feeding

Specializes in hunting fiddler crabs, which it seizes, subdues, and often dismembers before swallowing; it also takes other crustaceans, marine worms, and insects picked from open sand and mudflats.

Nesting

Nests in a shallow scrape above the high-tide line, often near dune vegetation or debris. Both parents share incubation and use distraction displays to draw predators away from eggs or chicks, which are precocial and leave the nest soon after hatching.