During the breeding season, the grey plover (Pluvialis squatarola) has a black face and neck, a white cap that stretches down the back of its neck, a speckled body, a white rump and a black-barred tail. During the non-breeding months, grey plovers are primarily speckled grey on their back, wings, and face with lighter speckles on their belly (as pictured above).
Grey plovers breed throughout nortwestern Alaska and the Candian Arctic. They nest on the tundra where they lay 3 to 4 spotted brown eggs in a moss-lined nest on the ground. Grey plovers migrate southward to British Columbia, the United States, and Eurasia during winter months. The grey plover is sometimes referred to as the black-bellied plover.
