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General Information

The mountain plover (Charadrius montanus) is an

upland shorebird native to the shortgrass prairies

of the Great Plains and arid rangelands of North

America. These habitats consist of gently rolling

hills and flat plains dominated by low growing native grasses, primarily blue grama and buffalograss.

Also called the prairie plover or upland plover, the

mountain plover is adapted to sparsely vegetated

and bare ground areas associated with various disturbances (heavy grazing, fire, prairie dog colonies, etc.) or alkaline soils. While the essential

habitat feature is bare ground, plovers will tolerate

up to 70 percent short vegetation ground cover.

Grassland bird populations, which include the

mountain plover, are declining at faster rates than

any other group of North American birds. During

the 30-year period between 1965 and 1995, mountain plover populations declined overall by 63 percent. Habitat loss due to conversion of shortgrass

prairie to agricultural uses and declining prairie dog

populations were major factors contributing to this

decline. Other threats include loss of eggs and

chicks to predation and introduction of tall woody

species in preferred grassland habitats.

Prior to 1900, the mountain plover was a widely

distributed, heavily hunted gamebird of the shortgrass prairie. Historical accounts of mountain plover populations indicate that although uncommon

overall, individuals were common in suitable habitats. Recent population estimates range from

8,000-12,000 birds. However, accurate counts are

difficult to obtain because the birds are well camouflaged.

Already extirpated from its former range in North

Dakota and South Dakota, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the mountain plover

as a federally threatened or endangered species in

1999. The Partners in Flight conservation rating

system considers this species as an “extremely high

priority.” Existing populations are isolated due to

habitat loss and other factors. Conservation efforts are focused on maintaining and improving

habitat in areas currently occupied by breeding

mountain plovers.

This leaflet provides an introduction to the habitat

requirements of the mountain plover and is intended to assist landowners and managers develop

mountain plover management plans. The success

of any species-specific management plan depends

on targeting the needs of the desired species and

analyzing existing habitat conditions to ensure that

Mountain Plover

(Charadrius montanus)

 April 2001 Fish and Wildlife Habitat Management Leaflet Number 22

F. L. Knopf

Wildlife Habitat Management Institute
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all required habitat elements are present. This leaflet provides a number of practical habitat management practices that can be used to improve and

manage mountain plover habitat. Landowners and

managers are encouraged to enlist the expertise of

wildlife and natural resource professionals to help

identify additional habitat management needs and

actions.

Range

As short distance migrants, mountain plovers arrive at breeding grounds in March and wintering

grounds from late July through October. Breeding range is currently restricted to portions of Montana, Wyoming, eastern Colorado, eastern New

Mexico, southwestern Nebraska, the western panhandle of Oklahoma, western Kansas, and scattered

breeding pairs in northeast Utah.

In Nebraska, the most recent sightings of mountain plovers were in Kimball and Box Butte counties. Adults exhibiting nesting behavior were observed in Morton County and three other counties

in southwest Kansas in or close to the Cimarron

National Grassland. Most of the remaining breeding birds can be found in eastern Colorado.

Grasslands of the Intermountain Flyway and the

central plains and playa regions of the Central Flyway are used by migrating plovers. Winter range

includes short growth grassland, arid plains, and

agricultural land found mostly in central and coastal

California (Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Imperial Valleys). A few plovers also winter in southern Arizona, central and coastal Texas, and northern Mexico.

Mountain plover (Charadrius montanus)

Physical Features and Habits

Description: Similar in appearance to killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), but no breast rings; light

brown back, sandy-buff breast; during breeding season has black forecrown with white forehead

and white eyestripe; loses white face pattern in the fall; thin white wing stripe that shows in flight

and black tailband with white border.

Size: Medium body size, 20-24 cm (8-9.5 in.).

Wing spread: 44.5-49.5 cm (17.5-19.5 in.).

Voice: Low, variable whistle.

Displays: “Falling leaf” and “butterfly” aerial displays performed during breeding season; also

distraction displays; bows and calls.

Comments: Sexes similar in size and appearance; polyandrous (one female mates with more than

one male, but each male mates with only one female), which is rare and observed mostly in shorebirds; often runs rather than flying when disturbed.

Status of the Mountain Plover in the U.S.

and Canada

Federal Status; U.S.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed

listing the mountain plover as a threatened or

endangered species throughout its range.

State status

♦ Montana— Protected

♦ Oklahoma— Species of Interest or Concern

♦ California— Species of Special Concern

♦ Kansas— on Watch List

♦ Nebraska— Threatened

♦ North Dakota— Extirpated

♦ South Dakota— Extirpated

♦ Utah— Species of Special Concern

Canada

♦ Endangered
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Habitat Requirements

General

The mountain plover is widely distributed throughout its range. However, it is considered rare or

uncommon even in areas with high quality habitat. Suitable mountain plover habitat has several

unifying, distinctive features:

 ̧ Bare ground on non-sandy soils; plovers

will tolerate up to 70 percent coverage of

short, sparse vegetation; vegetation height

<4 inches, on average <2.4 inches.

 ̧ Moderate elevations; generally found lower

than 6,500 feet above sea level.

 ̧ Level, or nearly level topography; usually

found in areas with 0-5 percent slope, but

on average <2 percent slope.

Mountain plovers are often associated with disturbed sites where the vegetation is very short or

lacking, there is at least 30 percent bare ground,

and the terrain is level. Favored habitats include

prairie dog towns, areas heavily grazed by domestic livestock or wild herbivores, bare ground areas

Mountain plover (Charadrius montanus)

F. L. Knopf

Mountain plovers require bare ground or short grass, as

found on this Weld County, Colorado site.
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near artificial watering structures, recently burned

or mowed areas, and recently fallowed or tilled crop

fields. In Montana, the largest mountain plover

population is associated with the state’s largest

prairie dog colony.

Mountain plovers are adaptable to a variety of plant

communities and terrain, as long as the vegetation

structure and topography are similar to that described above. Blue grama and buffalograss communities often provide suitable plover habitat.

Forbs such as fleabane and tufted milkvetch,

sedges, and other grasses are also part of these grass

communities. Scattered, small shrubs and cacti

may also be present. Nuttall’s saltbush, fringed

sagebrush, prostrate sagebrush, and big sagebrush

are shrub species that may be associated with some

mountain plover habitats. Plains prickly pear cactus is also found in some areas inhabited by plovers.

Food

The diet of the mountain plover consists of grasshoppers and crickets, beetles, ants, flies, and other

insects and invertebrates. Bare ground associated

with extremely short vegetation and artificial watering structures attract insects and consequently

foraging mountain plovers. The precocial young

also feed on insects and other invertebrates. Less

than one percent of the diet is seeds and other plant

matter.

Breeding and nesting habitat

Mountain plovers exhibit nesting site fidelity to

areas used the previous year. Breeding habitat

characteristics are similar to those described for

general habitat: nearly level bare ground, possibly

interspersed with short grass or shrubs. Males defend territories used during the previous breeding

season, and both males and females perform fallMountain plover (Charadrius montanus)

F. L. Knopf

Mountain plovers sometimes make nesting scrapes next

to conspicuous objects like cow patties or small shrubs.

Nest, Eggs, and Young

Nest: Shallow, hollow scrape; may be unlined or lined with bits of plant material.

Eggs: Average 3 eggs, but can have 1-4; oval-shaped; drab light olive to olive-buff; rarely pinkish-buff; finely

speckled or scrawled with black or gray marks.

Egg size: 37x28 mm (1 1/2 x 1 1/8 in.).

Number of clutches: One or two; female may lay two clutches, each in a different nest with the same or different

males.

Incubation: Eggs laid at one- or two-day intervals; incubation lasts 28-31 days; male often takes over incubation

duties; males and females both incubate eggs, but in separate nests. Females may be polyandrous.

Young: Precocial and downy; can find own food; down is whitish below, pale yellowish-buff on flanks and back;

collar around hind-neck and forehead unmarked; rest of body heavily spotted/mottled with black spots which are

heaviest on the hind-crown; pale eyestripe.

Fledging date: 33-34 days.

Predators: Mammalian predators include coyote (Canis latrans), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), and ground squirrels

(Citellus spp.) and other small mammals; avian predators include common raven (Corvus corax), northern harrier

(Circus cyaneus), prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus) and others.
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ing leaf aerial displays on breeding grounds.

Male mountain plovers make several scrapes (shallow depressions in the soil) before females choose

one as the nest site. Scrapes may be lined with

chunks of earth or bits of vegetation. Sometimes

nests are placed next to cow chips or other conspicuous objects. Female mountain plovers may

start incubating a second clutch after the male starts

incubating the first clutch. This behavior may help

ensure nesting success since many eggs and chicks

are lost to a variety of causes. Hot summer sun

can quickly kill eggs and chicks if the parent bird

is not present to provide shade. A wide variety of

predators also take a heavy toll on mountain plover eggs and chicks. After hatching, parent birds

may move young more than a mile to better foraging areas.

Wintering habitat

Wintering grounds in central and coastal California and portions of Arizona, Texas, and northern

Mountain plover (Charadrius montanus)

Table 1. Summary of mountain plover habitat requirements.

Habitat component Habitat requirements

Food--Young Insects--mostly ants, grasshoppers, and other grounddwelling insects and invertebrates.

Food--Adults Insects--mostly ants, grasshoppers, and ground-dwelling

insects; also an occassional scorpion or other invertebrate;

less than one percent of total diet is seeds/vegetation.

Breeding and Bare ground (at least 30 percent) and short,

nesting habitat sparse vegetation (usually <3 inches tall) on nearly level

ground (usually between 0-5 percent slope); favored sites

include prairie dog towns, heavily grazed pasture and

rangeland, and recently burned or mowed areas; low-growing

scattered shrubs such as Nuttall's saltbush, fringed sagebrush,

big sagebrush, and plains prickly pear cactus may be

present.

Winter habitat Same as breeding habitat; plovers most often observed

in crop fields or other disturbed sites.

Water Obtain water from food items; sometimes observed near

livestock watering structures but probably attracted to

bare ground and high insect numbers.

Minimum habitat size At least 70 acres for brood-rearing; 25-50 acres

at other times of the year.

F. L. Knopf Heavily grazed areas are commonly used by nesting and

foraging mountain plovers.
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Mexico have habitat features similar to breeding

and nesting grounds. Mountain plovers may gather

in wintering flocks. Wintering sites include dry

alkali lakes, coastal prairies, fallow fields, and

semi-desert habitats.

Water

The water content of food items fulfills mountain

plover water requirements. Mountain plovers have

been observed near artificial watering structures

designed for livestock and wildlife, but are probably attracted to the heavily grazed areas around

watering structures and the insects found there.

Minimum habitat area

Minimum breeding habitat area depends on habitat quality to some degree. In general, the mountain plover needs at least 25-50 acres of suitable

habitat for foraging. Studies in Colorado found

that mountain plovers need at least 70 acres to raise

a brood, although sometimes the boundaries of

brooding areas overlap.

Limiting Factors

Table 1 provides a summary of mountain plover

habitat requirements. For planning purposes, use

Table 2 to subjectively rate the availability and

quality of mountain plover habitat within a planning area, based on habitat requirement descriptions listed in Table 1. Habitat communities and

components that are absent or given a low rating

are likely limiting mountain plover habitat quality. Management actions should be taken to adMountain plover (Charadrius montanus)

Availability/Quality

Habitat Component High Medium Low Absent

Food

Breeding, nesting, and broodrearing cover

Winter habitat

Minimum habitat size

Table 2. Factors that can limit habitat quality/quantity for mountain

plovers.
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dress these limiting factors. Land uses on adjacent properties may need to be considered to accurately rate the quality of a habitat management area

for mountain plovers.

Habitat Management Recommendations

Many breeding populations of mountain plovers

are isolated from others. Habitat management focused on improving potential habitat around existing breeding populations could increase viability and reproductive success. Management practices that conserve or enhance mountain plover

habitat focus on maintaining blocks of habitat (at

least 50 acres in size) consisting of bare ground

and up to 70 percent short, sparse vegetation on

nearly level terrain. All mechanical land treatment

practices including mowing, burning, and tilling

should be avoided during the nesting season (from

March through August) to help reduce egg and

chick mortality. Whenever possible, landowners

and managers should preserve tracts of natural,

continuous shortgrass prairie habitat preferred by

NRCS Conservation practices that may be

useful in undertaking the above management

actions.

Conservation Practice Code

Conservation Cover 327

Prescribed Burning 338

Prescribed Grazing 528A

Upland Wildlife Management 645

Early Successional Habitat 647

Development

Table 3. Management options for increasing habitat quality or availability for mountain plovers.

Habitat Conservation practices

component Management options for increasing habitat quality or availability & assistance programs*

Maintain bare ground; up to 70 percent short, sparse vegetation 338, 528A, 645

(no tall vegetation) with 0-5 percent slope to encourage

insect populations such as beetles, grasshoppers, and crickets. WHIP, PFW

Food Limit pesticide use on potential mountain plover habitat (both

breeding and wintering habitat).

Use mechanical treatments to control woody species; can use 338, 528A, 645, 647

prescribed grazing system for domestic livestock or allow foraging

by prairie dogs and grazing by wild ungulates such as bison PFW, WHIP, EQIP

and pronghorn antelope.

Breeding, Maintain bare ground; up to 70 percent short, sparse vegetation 338, 528A, 645

nesting, (no tall vegetation) with 0-5 percent slope with occasional

brood-rearing, prescribed burning or controlled grazing when and where PFW, WHIP, EQIP

and winter appropriate.

habitat If restoring croplands with native grasses, allow intensive grazing 327, 528A

to encourage shortgrasses and keep them from being shaded out 

by exotic and taller vegetation. WHIP, EQIP, PFW, CRP

Avoid or eliminate pesticide application during the nesting season

and minimize use during the rest of the year.

Ensure at least 70 acres are available for breeding habitat, and at least 

Minimum 50 acres for wintering habitat. At least 25-50 acres are required for

habitat size suitable foraging habitat at all times of the year.

* See Table 4 for a description of assistance programs.

Mountain plover (Charadrius montanus)
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Mountain plover (Charadrius montanus)

mountain plovers. Management options are summarized in Table 3.

Periodic disturbance that creates open areas of bare

ground and healthy shortgrass vegetation communities maintains high quality mountain plover habitat. Natural disturbances such as fire and heavy

grazing by wild herbivores (e.g., black-tailed prairie dogs) create the favored habitat conditions by

reducing vegetation height. Intensive domestic

livestock grazing (cattle, horses, llamas) has been

effective in providing habitat on ranches. Heavy

spot grazing by livestock can simulate wild herbivore grazing patterns and create patches of bare

ground.

Heavy spot grazing best benefits breeding habitat

in the late winter and early spring. Sites with vegetation taller than four inches, or previously grazed

Table 4. Programs that provide technical and financial assistance to develop fish and wildlife habitat on

private lands.

Program Land eligibility Type of assistance Contact

Conservation Reserve Highly erodible land, 50% cost-share for establishing permanent NRCS or FSA

Program wetland and certain cover and conservation practices, and state or local

(CRP) other lands with cropping annual rental payments for land enrolled office

history. Stream-side in 10- to 15-year contracts. Additional

areas in pasture land. financial incentives available for some

practices.

Environmental Quality Cropland, range, grazing Up to 75% cost-share for conservation NRCS state or

Incentives Program land and other agricultrual practices in accordance with 10- to 15- local office

(EQIP) land in need of treatment. year contracts. Incentive payments for

certain management practices.

Partners for Fish and Most degraded fish and/ Up to 100% finanical and technical Local office of

Wildlife Program or wildlife habitat. assistance to restore wildlife habitat the U.S. Fish

(PFW) under minimum 10-year cooperative and Wildlife

agreements. Service

Waterways for Private lands. Technical and program development Wildlife Habitat

Wildlife assistance to coalesce habitat efforts of Council

corporations and private landowners to 

meet common wateshed level goals.

Wildlife at Work Corporate lands. Technical assistance on developing Wildlife Habitat

habitat projects into programs that allow Council

companies to involve employees and the

community.

Wildlife Habitat High-priority fish and Up to 75% cost-share for conservation NRCS state or

Incentives Program wildlife habitats. practices under 5- to 10-year contracts. local office

(WHIP)

State fish and wildlife agencies as well as private groups may have additional assistance programs.

Mountain plovers prefer the habitat conditions created by

black-tailed prairie dog colonies. The disturbed soils,

patches of bare ground, and short vegetation provide

good foraging habitat and attract insects. Other wildlife

such as burrowing owls and endangered black-footed

ferrets require habitat characteristics associated with

prairie dog towns.

Victor Love, IBM Boulder, Colorado
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Mountain plover (Charadrius montanus)

sites left ungrazed for a few years, will be abandoned or left uninhabited. The potential use of

mixed-grass prairies by mountain plovers can increase with a combination of heavy spot grazing,

preserving prairie dog towns, and management

practices like mowing and prescribed burning.

Prescribed burns conducted in late summer or early

fall can be used to reduce vegetation height, help

control woody species, and increase the interspersion of bare ground and vegetation.

Prescribed burns should be conducted under the

supervision of trained natural resource professionals. These professionals can also help develop a

burn plan that accomplishes the wildlife management and economic goals of the landowner or manager, and may be able to provide equipment and

technical or financial assistance. Mowing can also

be used to reduce the height of grasses, and dead

plant material can be burned or grazed. Landowners should avoid seeding exotic or taller grasses

that can crowd out native shortgrass prairie plants.

Prairie dog colonies provide a combination of bare

ground and short vegetation that is favored by

breeding mountain plovers, and the insects attracted to these sites supply a rich food source for

plovers and other grassland birds. Prairie dog colonies also provide certain habitat conditions required

by species such as meadowlarks, grasshopper sparrows, burrowing owls, black-footed ferrets, and

other wildlife. Conservation measures intended

to preserve active prairie dog towns will greatly

benefit mountain plovers and other species of shortgrass prairie ecosystems.

Landowner Assistance Programs

Technical and financial assistance is available to

landowners through a variety of government agencies and other organizations (Table 4). Landowners and managers should enroll the expertise of

state and local natural resource professionals to

help assess habitat quality and management practices for sustaining mountain plover populations

and enhancing plover habitat quality.

References

On-line sources

Dechant, J. A., M. L. Sondreal, D. H. Johnson, L. D. Igl, C.

M. Goldade, M. P. Nenneman, and B. R. Euliss.

2001. Effects of management practices on grassland birds: mountain plover. USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Jamestown, North

Dakota, USA. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/literatr/grasbird/mtnplove/mtnplove.htm

(Version 17FEB2000).

Knopf, F. L. and W. Iko. Ecology of the mountain plover.

USGS Midcontinent Ecological Science Center.

http://www.mesc.usgs.gov/projects/

ecology%5Fmtn%5Fplover.html. May 1, 2001.

Skagen, S. K., P. B. Sharpe, R. G. Waltermire, and M. B.

Dillon. Biographical profiles of shorebird migration in midcontinental North America. USGS Biological Resources Division, Midcontinental Ecological Science Center. Fort Collins, Colorado.

http://www.mesc.usgs.gov/shorebirds. April 4,

2001.

The mountain plover: a threatened and endangered species.

Nebraska Game and Parks. http://

ngp.ngpc.state.ne.us/wildlife/plover.html. March

30, 2001.

Printed sources

Andrews, R. and R. Righter. 1992. Colorado Birds. Denver Museum of Natural History, Denver, Colorado,

USA.

Baicich, P. J. and C. J. O. Harrison. 1997. A guide to the

nests, eggs, and nestlings of North American birds,

second edition. Natural World Academic Press,

New York, New York, USA.

Cable, T. T., S. Seltman, and K. J. Cook. 1996. Birds of

Cimarron National Grassland. General Technical

Report RM-GTR-281. U.S. Forest Service. Fort

Collins, Colorado, USA.

DeGraaf, R. M., V. E. Scott, R. H. Hamre, L. Ernst, and S.

H. Anderson. 1991. Forest and rangeland birds of

the United States: natural history and habitat use.

U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,

Agricultural Handbook 688.

Ehrlich, P. R., D. S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The

birder’s handbook. Simon & Schuster, New York,

New York, USA.
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Mountain plover (Charadrius montanus)

Gillihan, S. W. and S. W. Hutchings. Best management practices for shortgrass prairie birds: a landowner’s

guide. Colorado Bird Observatory, Brighton, Colorado, USA.

Graul, W. D. 1975. Breeding biology of the mountain plover. Wilson Bulletin 87:6-31.

Knopf, F. L. 1994. Avian assemblages on altered grasslands. Studies in Avian Biology 15:247-257.

Knopf, F. L. 1996. Mountain plover (Charadrius montanus)

in The Birds of North America, No. 211 (A. Poole

and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America,

Inc., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Knowles, C. J. and P. R. Knowles. 1998. The historic and

current status of the mountain plover in Montana.

FaunaWest Wildlife Consultants. Bureau of Land

Management, Billings, Montana, USA.

Knowles, C. J. and P. R. Knowles. 1999. The historic and

current status of the mountain plover in Montana.

FaunaWest Wildlife Consultants. Bureau of Land

Management, Billings, Montana, USA.

Knowles, C. J., C. J. Stoner, and S. P. Gieb. 1982. Selective

use of black-tailed prairie dog towns by mountain

plovers. Condor 84:71-74.

May, H. L. In press. Managing rangelands for fish and

wildlife. USDA Natural Resources Conservation

Service and Wildlife Habitat Council Fish and Wildlife Habitat Management Leaflet, No. 19.

Pashley, D. N., C. J. Beardmore, J. A. Fitzgerald, R. P. Ford,

W. C. Hunter, M. S. Morrison, and K. V. Rosenberg.

2000. Partners in Flight: conservation of land birds

in the United States. American Bird Conservancy,

The Plains, Virginia, USA.

Peterson, R. T. 1990. A field guide to western birds. Third

edition. Houghton Mifflin, New York, New York,

USA.

Schwilling, M. D. 1994. Wildlife investigations in western

Kansas-January 1, 1993-January 1, 1994. Chickadee Checkoff Nongame Contract No. 238. Kansas

Department of Wildlife and Parks.

Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of

North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York,

New York , USA.
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Mountain plover (Charadrius montanus)

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the

basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or

familial status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Person with disabilities who require alternate means

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To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326W, Whitten Building, 14th and

Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal

opportunity provider and employer.

Primary author: Holly L. May, Wildlife Habitat Council. Drafts were reviewed by Fritz L. Knopf,

USGS Midcontinental Ecological Science Center; Sam Fitton, Bureau of Land Management; Kevin

Hunting, Bureau of Land Management; Charles Rewa, NRCS Wildlife Habitat Management

Insitute; and Rob Pauline,Wildlife Habitat Council.

Wildlife Habitat Council

1010 Wayne Avenue, Suite 920

Silver Spring, Maryland 20910

(301) 588-8994

The mission of the Wildlife Habitat Council is

to increase the amount of quality wildlife habitat on corporate, private, and public land.

WHC engages corporations, public agencies,

and private, non-profit organizations on a voluntary basis as one team for the recovery, development, and preservation of wildlife habitat worldwide.

www.wildlifehc.org

Wildlife Habitat Management Institute

100 Webster Circle, Suite 3

Madison, Mississippi 39110

(601) 607-3131

In cooperation with partners, the mission of the

Wildlife Habitat Management Institute is to develop and disseminate scientifically based technical materials that will assist NRCS field staffs

and others to promote conservation stewardship of fish and wildlife, and deliver sound habitat management principles and practices to

America’s land users.

www.ms.nrcs.usda.gov/whmi

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