Any shore bird of the family Charadriidae, order Charadriiformes, found worldwide.
Plovers are usually black or brown above and white below, and have short bills.
In winter the upper parts are a sooty black with large yellow spots, and white throat and underparts, changing to black in the spring. It nests on the ground, laying four yellowish eggs blotched with brown. The ringed plover Charadrius hiaticula , with a black and white face, and black band on the throat, is found on British shores, nesting in a scrape on a beach or amongst shingle. The largest of the ringed plovers is the killdeer Charadrius vociferus , so called because of its cry. The little ringed plover Charadrius dubious is found in the south of England breeding in gravel pits.