Wildlife
Plovers and lapwings are familar, often colourful, shorebirds. They hunt by sight using a run-and-pause technique before snatching up insects and worms with their short pointed bills. This is quite a different technique to long-billed waders which hunt by probing. There are around 70 species in the family, including the larger lapwings and the smaller plovers and dotterels. They have a worldwide distribution, except in the Antarctic, preferring open countryside such as wetlands, shorelines and farmland.
Scientific name: Charadriidae
Rank: Family
The shading illustrates the diversity of this group - the darker the colour the greater the number of species. Data provided by WWF's Wildfinder.
The following habitats are found across the Plovers and lapwings distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
The bird family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings, about 64 to 66 species in all.
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Coastal
Estuaries
Intertidal zone
Lakes and ponds
Shallow seas
Colonial
Adapted to flying
Acoustic communication
Moulting
Egg layer
Visual communication