Black-bellied Plover

How to find it

Look for it on open mud and sand at low tide. At the Gulf of Nicoya, plan around the tide: at low tide the birds spread over huge mudflats, while at high tide they crowd into the salt and shrimp ponds near Chomes and Punta Morales, where a scope helps. The tidal flats of the Damas Island estuary near Quepos are named as a good place to see it. Check roadside fields on both coasts too, where a tour group found it along the Tarcoles River and flying over La Quinta. Single birds have also been seen on the beach at Tortuguero and at the Tarcoles river mouth.

How to recognise it

In every plumage, the black armpit feathers under the wing set it apart in flight from the other three Pluvialis plovers.

Winter birds, the ones most visitors see, are plain grey above with a white belly. Breeding adults have a black face, breast and belly edged with white, a spotted black and white back and a white rump. In Costa Rica, birds in breeding plumage show up from February to April, though a birding blog notes they are hardly ever seen in that dress.

In flight, look for black armpits, a white rump and a barred white tail. On the ground it has a larger, heavier bill than the golden plovers.

What it sounds like

Recording: Jennifer Rycenga, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

It feeds by sight on beaches and tidal flats, and winter birds probe slowly for worms and small invertebrates. It is less sociable than other Pluvialis plovers and spreads out widely when feeding, so at low tide you often see single birds. At high tide roosts it does form dense flocks, the moment to scan carefully with a scope. Human disturbance on busy beaches can interrupt its feeding and resting, so watching from a respectful distance helps the bird.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it lives on mudflats, salt pans, estuaries, sandy beaches and grassy fields, and sometimes in mangroves. It spends the non-breeding season in estuaries and on the coast of the Gulf and Peninsula of Nicoya. Birds visiting Costa Rica use the Gulf of Nicoya, the Golfo Dulce and the Caribbean coast. It is scarce inland in the northwest lowlands. Across its range it also uses rocky shores and sometimes inland water bodies.

When to see it

It is fairly common to common from August to May on both coasts, and mainly a winter visitor to the Pacific coast. Young birds in first plumage are seen from September to January, and a few birds stay through the northern summer in some places.

Similar birds

Next to the American Golden-Plover it is larger, with a bigger head and bill, a pale rump, a white tail and black under the wings. In non-breeding plumage the two look much alike, so check for a thin pale eyebrow and the black feathers inside the wing where it meets the body. Its call is also lower and more drawn out.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Rican lists give the Spanish name Chorlito Gris, with Avefría as an alternative name. Other Spanish names for the species are chorlo ártico, chorlito cabezón and chorlo gris.

Status and conservation

It is a migrant (M) on the AOCR list and Least Concern globally, though it depends on a few large tidal wetlands.

Photography tips

Flight shots are the prize, since a bird that takes off briefly shows its white wing stripe and black armpit feathers. These marks separate it from the rare American Golden-Plover. At high tide, roosting flocks near the shrimp ponds give a chance to compare many birds at once.