Black-Bellied Plover

(Squatarola squatarola), a bird of the family Charadriidae of the suborder Limicolae. The black-bellied plover is about 28 cm long and weighs 170–225 g. In contrast to other closely related species, the black-bellied plover has a small posterior toe. During the summer the plumage is variegated above and black below and on the axillary wings. The winter plumage is off-white. The black-bellied plover has circumpolar distribution in the tundra zone. A migratory bird, it winters in Africa, Southern Asia, Australia, and Central and South America. The bird nests on dry ridges in pure tundra. A clutch contains four or, less commonly, three eggs, which are incubated by both the male and the female for 23 days. Both sexes rear the young. The diet consists of insects, worms, mollusks, crustaceans, and seeds.