FEATURED PHOTO: AGEING AND MOLT IN NONBREEDING BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS

Abstract

The correct determination of a bird’s age, both in the hand and in the field, can be useful for population studies and necessitates an appreciation of molt patterns. Like most Northern Hemisphere shorebirds, adult Black-bellied Plovers (Pluvialis squatarola) undergo a complete prebasic molt from fall into winter, while juveniles have only a partial molt in their first winter. The literature, however, contains conflicting information on the timing and number of molts undertaken by first-year Black-bellied Plovers.