Grey Plover

Pluvialis squatarola (Linnaeus, 1758) GV GREPL 4860
Family: Charadriiformes > Charadriidae

Primarily a winter visitor to our coastal estuaries, its British name reflects its drab plumage at this time of year.

In summer, though, the Grey plover is more strikingly coloured and elsewhere it is known as the Black-bellied or Silver Plover. This was probably the last regularly occurring British species to have its breeding areas identified – not surprising given they are in the northernmost reaches of Siberia.

As with many Arctic-breeding waders, while some birds come to Britain for the winter, others continue their journey to spend the winter in western Africa. Unlike most birds, Grey Plovers often replace their primary feathers in two stages, moulting some before migrating and the remainder when they’ve completed their journey.

Select a topic for more facts and statistics about the Grey Plover

• Breeding
• Winter

CONSERVATION STATUS

SEASONALITY

243.4g

WEIGHT

4

EGGS

250k records

BTO RECORDS

1

PUBLICATIONS

CONSERVATION STATUS

34k

POPULATION SIZE

-35% 1996/97–2021/22

POPULATION CHANGE

3.1% Expansion

DISTRIBUTION CHANGE

SEASONALITY

200-
290g

WEIGHT

250k records

BTO RECORDS

1

PUBLICATIONS

Identification

Grey Plover identification is often straightforward. The following article may help when identifying Grey Plover.

related video

Identifying Grey Plover and Golden Plover

Can you tell the silver from the gold? Found around our coasts, wetlands and uplands Golden Plover is a beautiful medium-sized wader. Its cousin, Grey Plover, can be found around our coasts in most months of the year, causing a potential ID challenge. This ID workshop will help you to confidently separate the two species.

Status and Trends

Population size and trends and patterns of distribution based on BTO surveys and atlases with data collected by BTO volunteers.

CONSERVATION STATUS

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

UK Birds of Conservation Concern	Amber listed
Species of European Conservation Concern	Least Concern
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)	Least Concern
Schedule 1 license required (to disturb)	No
Birds Directive Annex 1	No
Listed on the Annexes of	WBD(II*), Bern(III), Bonn(II), AEWA

POPULATION SIZE

UK (winter)	34 thousand (2012-17)
BOU Category	A
First Record	Recorded in Medieval times

POPULATION CHANGE

UK winter population

-35% decrease (1996/97–2021/22)

DISTRIBUTION

Grey Plovers are winter visitors and passage migrants to the UK and are widely distributed around the coasts, with a particular preference for areas with intertidal mud and sandflats. The breeding season map shows a scattering of spring and early autumn passage migrants and summering second calendar-year birds.

• 

• 

Occupied 10-km squares in UK

No. occupied in winter	533
% occupied in winter	18

European Distribution Map

European Breeding Bird Atlas 2

DISTRIBUTION CHANGE

There has been little change in winter range since the 1980s.

% change in range in winter (1981–84 to 2007–11)

+3.1%

SEASONALITY

Grey Plovers are mostly winter visitors but a few birds summer on larger estuaries, and return migration can begin in late July.

Movement

Information about movement and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.

RINGING RECOVERIES

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

Biology

Lifecycle and body size information about Grey Plover, including statistics on nesting, eggs and lifespan based on BTO ringing and nest recording data.

PRODUCTIVITY & NESTING

Number of Broods	1
Egg Size	52×36 mm    Weight = 34.2 g (of which 5% is shell)

SURVIVAL & LONGEVITY

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Maximum Age from Ringing	25 years 1 months 18 days (set in 2004)
Typical Lifespan	9 years with breeding typically at 2 year
Adult Survival	0.86
Juvenile Survival	0.63 (in first year)

BIOMETRICS

Wing Length	Adults	199.5±6 | Range 188–209mm, N=253
	Juveniles	195.3±5.3 | Range 185-203mm, N=115

Body Weight	Adults	243±27.7 | Range 200–290g, N=239
	Juveniles	235±35.5 | Range 183–297g, N=105

Feather measurements and photos on featherbase

CODES & CLASSIFICATION

Ring size	D2
Field Codes	2-letter: GV | 5-letter code: GREPL | Euring: 4860

For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name

Gaelic: Feadag-ghlas

Welsh: Cwtiad Llwyd

Catalan: pigre gris

Czech: kulík bledý

Danish: Strandhjejle

Dutch: Zilverplevier

Estonian: plüü

Finnish: tundrakurmitsa

French: Pluvier argenté

German: Kiebitzregenpfeifer

Hungarian: ezüstlile

Icelandic: Grálóa

Irish: Feadóg Ghlas

Italian: Pivieressa

Latvian: juras kivite

Lithuanian: jurinis sejikas

Norwegian: Tundralo

Polish: siewnica

Portuguese: batuiruçu-de-axila-preta / tarambola-cinzenta

Slovak: kulík bledý

Slovenian: crna prosenka

Spanish: Chorlito gris

Swedish: kustpipare

Folkname: Sea / Silver Plover

Research

Interpretation and scientific publications about Grey Plover from BTO scientists.

PUBLICATIONS (1)

Peer-reviewed papers

Consequences of population change for local abundance and site occupancy of wintering waterbirds

Wavering Waterbirds

2017 | Méndez, V., Gill, J.A., Alves, J.A., Burton, N.H.K. & Davies, R.G.Diversity and Distributions

Protected sites are assigned based on population statistics for vulnerable and endangered species. This new study using WeBS data shows that changes in population size can affect local abundance, and thus influence whether or not key targets are met for site protection.