Black-bellied
Plover,
Pluvialis equatarola
The bird shown above has begun its molt from breeding (alternate) to winter (basic) plumage. The full breeding plumage, which I'm still seeking to photograph, presents a spectacular pattern of solid black outlined in solid white on the head and body, with a black-and-white checkerboard in the wings.
Black-bellied Plovers in flight, mostly through their prebasic molt, but some with black feathering on the underparts not yet fully replaced by the solid white of their winter plumage.
The next three pictures show the Black-bellied Plover in its non-breeding plumage, which is how we generally see the bird in the Lower 48. British birders, who never see the breeding plumage, title this bird the Grey Plover.
A familiar mark distinguishing the Black-bellied Plover from its similar looking Pluvialis cousins the golden-plovers is the black "armpit" or axillary feather tract, seen in the bird above and the two below, and also visible in the picture of the flying group further up the page.
The pervasive sharp white notches on the dark feathers of the upperparts, and the strong streaking of the breast of the bird above indicates a juvenile rather than a winter plumage adult. The same juvenile is shown with a molting adult below.
