semipalmated plover

noun

1. a New World plover, Charadrius semipalmatus, having a black ring around the chest and semipalmate feet, inhabiting beaches and salt marshes.

Word History and Origins

Origin of semipalmated plover¹

An Americanism dating back to 1820–30

Example Sentences

“You have to be careful not to stick yourself to the bird,” says Kennedy, holding a nanotag in place on a semipalmated plover until the Krazy Glue sets.

From Nature

“Web between bases of inner and middle toes,” runs the description of the semipalmated plover in Chapman’s 1912 edition of his “Color Key to North American Birds.”

From New York Times

His semipalmated plover, for example, perches on an egg-shaped rock, and, in pursuit of a tiny snail, tilts forward at a rakish angle.

From New York Times

Some species, notably the Semipalmated Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, and Black Tern, oversummer as nonbreeders in such large numbers that it is obvious that a significant fraction of the total population of the species does not breed in any one year.

From Project Gutenberg

Their three or four eggs are practically not distinguishable from those of the Semipalmated Plover, but larger; size, 1.40 x 1.00.

From Project Gutenberg