The Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) is the larger, greyer cousin of the Golden Plover — a wader 27–30 cm long, with a wingspan of 71–83 cm and a weight of 190–280 grams. In breeding plumage it shows a black face, breast and belly contrasting sharply with silver-grey, heavily spotted upperparts, while in winter it turns a more uniform, speckled grey. The most reliable field mark in flight is the black "armpit" patches (dark axillary feathers) combined with a clear white wingbar and white rump — a combination that, together with the plover's stronger, shorter bill, separates it decisively from the smaller, warmer golden-spangled Golden Plover, which lacks the black armpits entirely.
Its call is a mournful, three-note whistle, "tlui-tlu-iih", that carries far and is often the first sign of a passing flock. The Grey Plover does not breed in Sweden, nesting instead on Arctic tundra in northern Russia, Alaska and Canada, where it lays its eggs in a shallow scrape on open ground; here it occurs only as a migrant and scarce winterer, with large numbers passing the coasts on autumn passage. It feeds on marine invertebrates — polychaete worms, small mussels and crustaceans — foraging in typical plover style, running a short distance, stopping to pick, then running on across open sand and mudflats. Once numerous worldwide, the species has declined enough that IUCN reclassified it as vulnerable in 2024.
Read about this species in Swedish →