Mountain Plover

Mountain Plover - © Bill Schmoker
[Mountain Plover - © Bill Schmoker]

The Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus) is an uncommon terrestrial shorebird found in xeric shrublands, shortgrass prairies, and other sparsely vegetated plains (including agricultural fields) of the western Great Plains of the United States, southern Canada, and northern Mexico; they winter primarily in California, northern Mexico, and Texas. Over the last 150 years, changes in land use and in the grassland herbivore community have altered the abundance, habitat use, and distribution of Mountain Plovers. Precise and accurate information about the current population size of and trend in Mountain Plovers is lacking. Changing landscapes still threaten Mountain Plovers, and their scarcity and wide distribution hinder our understanding of how plovers will respond. Obtaining more information on the distribution and abundance of Mountain Plovers, particularly in the winter, is needed to develop specific land management strategies for their conservation.

Date: April 2010

Sources:
Dinsmore, S.J. 2003. Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus): A technical assessment. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region, Species Conservation Project, Golden, CO.

Knopf. F.L., and M.B. Wunder. 2006. Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus). In Poole, A., and F. Gill, editors. The Birds of North America, Number 211, revision 1. The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.


Species Profile from NatureServe

Mountain Plover
Charadrius montanus

Description: A shorebird (plover). Brown upperparts; mainly white underwings; white throat, breast, and belly, with buffy tinge (more extensive in winter) on breast; breeding plumage includes a white forehead and line over the eye, contrasting with the dark crown (NGS 1983, Peterson 1990).

Life History:

Reproduction Comments: Breeding begins in late April in the south, mid May in the north. Nesting begins in April in Colorado (Knopf 1996). Full clutches occur mid-May to late June in north. Both sexes incubate three, sometimes two or four, eggs for 29 days, but not at the same nest. The female may lay second clutch while the male incubates the first clutch (Graul 1975). This behavior may be more the rule than the exception (Knopf, pers. obs.). Nestlings are precocial, and fledge in about 33-34 days. Adults nest alone or in loosely associated groups. Excessive rain and storms may destroy nests and result in taller vegetation that precludes birds from renesting in the vicinity as on the Pawnee National Grasslands in 1995 and 1997 (Knopf, unpub. data.).

Ecology Comments: These are gregarious birds, outside breeding season; they forage and roost in loose flocks of changing composition. Flock size may exceed 1000 on southern Great Plains in late summer; site fidelity seemed poorly developed in winter range in southern California, but the winter survival rate was high (Knopf and Rupert 1995). Density at Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, Montana, was 16.2 breeding plovers per 100 ha in prairie dog towns, 0.28 birds per sq km in the entire area (Olson 1984). The brood usually moves one to two km from the nest site in the first two to three days (Knopf and Rupert 1996). More than half of the clutches are lost to predators, mainly coyote (CANIS LATRANS) and swift fox (VULPES VELOX), and chicks also experience high rates of predation (Knopf 1996).

Habitat:

Cropland/hedgerow, Desert, Grassland/herbaceous.

Nesting habitat includes high plains/shortgrass prairie and desert tablelands, commonly prairie dog towns in some areas, such as sagebrush/blue grama habitats in central Montana. In central and southwestern Montana, southeastern Wyoming, and northeastern Colorado, nesting often occurs in shortgrass prairie with a history of heavy grazing or in low shrub semideserts. Nesting areas are characterized by very short vegetation, significant areas of bare ground (typically >30%, which may be the minimum requirement), and flat or gentle slopes (<5%) (Graul 1975, Graul and Webster 1976, Knowles et al. 1982, Olson 1984, Olson and Edge 1985, Olson-Edge and Edge 1987, Knopf and Miller 1994, Knopf 1996). Commonly, nesting takes place in barren fields that subsequently are planted with millet or sunflowers, resulting in losses of eggs and chicks (Knopf 1996). Nests are on the ground in shallow depressions that may be lined with plant material and/or adjacent to dried cattle dung (Knopf and Miller 1994). Adults often take chicks to windmill/water tank areas to forage (Knopf 1996), but site around tank must be dry. This bird generally avoids moist soils.

Preferred winter habitat consists of short-grass plains and fields, plowed fields, and sandy deserts (AOU 1983), and commercial sod farms (New Mexico, Knopf 1996). In southern California, wintering birds preferred heavily grazed native rangelands; they used burned fields primarily for night roosting. Alkali flats were the most favored habitat, where available; the use of cultivated land may be a result of loss of native habitats; native habitats may be critical in fall before freshly cultivated fields become available (Knopf and Rupert 1995).

Distribution:

United States: AZ, CA, CO, KS, MT, ND (extirpated), NE, NM, NN, OK, SD (extirpated), TX, UT, WY
Canada: AB, SK

Status:

NatureServe Status: Global Status: G3, Global Status Last Reviewed: 08Oct2008, Global Status Last Changed: 08Oct2008, Rounded Global Status: G3 - Vulnerable, Reasons: Nesting population mainly in Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado; breeding population exceeds 10,000 individuals; breeding range has contracted over the long term, but population not declining in recent years; threats not as great as previously believed.

Other Statuses: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Lead Region: R6 - Rocky Mountain, Canadian Species at Risk Act (SARA) Schedule 1/Annexe 1 Status: E (05Jun2003), Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC): Endangered (01Nov2000), IUCN Red List Category: VU - Vulnerable

Resources: NatureServe Species Profile - Full Report

Taxonomy Helper

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Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)

Mountain Plover

    Kingdom: Animalia
    Division: Chordata
    Subdivision: Vertebrata
    Class: Aves
    Order: Ciconiiformes
    Family: Charadriidae
    Genus: Charadrius
    Species: Charadrius montanus
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