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  1. Species
  2. ›
  3. Charadriidae
  4. ›
  5. Charadrius
  6. ›
  7. Semipalmated Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Photo · no rights reserved

BirdUp · Species

Semipalmated Plover

Charadrius semipalmatusBonaparte, 1825

Updated 21 March 2026

Origin: Native
Order
CHARADRIIFORMES
Family
Charadriidae
Genus
Charadrius

At a glance

The Semipalmated Plover, native to Australia. It can be seen year-round.

Origin
Native
Best seen
Year-round
Commonness
Very common
  • Identification
  • Where
  • When
  • Gallery

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

The semipalmated plover is a small plover. Charadrius is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. It derives from Ancient Greek kharadrios a bird found in ravines and river valleys. The specific semipalmatus is Latin and comes from semi, "half" and palma, "palm". Like the English name, this refers to its only partially webbed feet.

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

03 · When

When to look

When can you see a Semipalmated Plover?

The Semipalmated Plover is present across its Australian range year-round, so it can be seen in any month.

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

06 · Gallery

Plumage up close

2 photos

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02 · Where

Where to find it

Where does the Semipalmated Plover live in Australia?

The Semipalmated Plover is native to Australia, recorded across 9 of Australia’s bioregions.

BreedingInland high Arctic to extreme north-east Russia and subarctic Alaska and Canada: east Chukotskiy Pen. (north-east Russia), central and east Aleutian Is., all Alaskan mainland and north-west British Columbia to Banks and Baffin is., south to west James Bay, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia (north-west to north-east and south-east Canada)

Non-breedingCoastal from Oregon and New Jersey (north-west and east-central USA) south to north Chile and east-central Argentina; also Bermuda, throughout West Indies and Galápagos

Distribution from BirdUp Australia community data

Legend

  • Breeding
  • Resident

5 regions recorded