Species › Birds

Grey Plover

Pluvialis squatarola

Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Charadriidae
Presence in the Strait: Seasonal
Abundance: common
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Chorlito gris

Marine taxonomy: validated in WoRMS, AphiaID 159137

Photograph: Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA, vía iNaturalist

Length: 27–30 cm
Wingspan: 71–83 cm
Weight: 250 g

Presence in the Strait

Common winter visitor to coastal areas (<250).

Identification

The same as the European Golden Plover but with silver grey tones, thicker bill, larger head, white rump and black armpits seen in flight. In breeding plumage, striking black on lower part of body.

Movements

A great deal more abundant in prenuptial migration, with two peaks in 1st hf. March and 2nd hf. April. Postnuptial migration less pronounced, starting at the end of August, with peaks in 1st hf. september and 2nd hf. November.

Ring recoveries

Germany (2), Denmark (1), Spain (1) and Holland (1).

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

16 %

Peak in September. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 12 November 1972
Latest record: 5 March 2026

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: LC · Least concern · wintering or migrating
Global Red List (IUCN): VU · Vulnerable

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Phenology compared

Monthly distribution in proportion, by decade. It shows whether the passage is getting earlier or later.

1990–1999

2000–2009

2010–2026

Proportions, not totals: observation effort grew faster than any population.

Where they come from

5 birds ringed in other countries and recovered in the area.

Germany2
Denmark1
Spain1
Netherlands1

See the journey on the map

Same genus in the Strait

European Golden Plover26–29 cm · Seasonal · overlapping size
American Golden Plover23–28 cm · Vagrant · overlapping size

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Charadriidae
GBIF taxon key: 2480327

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Grey Plover

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Ring recoveries

Gallery