# Kentish plover (*Charadrius alexandrinus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/kentish-plover  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus), also called the snowy plover, is a bird of the family Charadriidae in the order Charadriiformes. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 42.3 g (up to 47 g) and a wingspan of 42.5 cm, with reported values from 41.1 to 43.9 cm. A carnivore classed as an aquatic predator, it lives in coastal habitats, forages on the ground and is partially migratory, with a geographic range of 13,540,000 km². It lays 3 eggs per clutch with 1.5 clutches per year, incubates them for 25 days, reaches sexual maturity at 1 year and has a lifespan of 15 years, up to 19 years.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 42.3 g – 47 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 41.1 cm – 43.9 cm |
| Lifespan | 15 years |
| Diet | Aquatic predator |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 19 years |
| Main food | arthropods |
| Habitat | coastal |
| Egg incubation | 25 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 3 |
| Age at maturity | 10.9 months – 14 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1.5 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Partial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Charadriiformes
- family: Charadriidae
- genus: Charadrius
- species: *Charadrius alexandrinus* Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms: *Anarhynchus alexandrinus*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the kentish plover?

The kentish plover is a bird in the family Charadriidae and the order Charadriiformes. It is also called the snowy plover.

### How big is the kentish plover?

It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 42.3 g, up to 47 g. Its wingspan is 42.5 cm, with reported values from 41.1 to 43.9 cm.

### What does the kentish plover eat?

The kentish plover is a carnivore classed as an aquatic predator.

### What habitat does the kentish plover live in?

It lives in coastal habitats and forages on the ground. It is partially migratory.

### Is the kentish plover endangered?

No. It is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the global IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does the kentish plover live?

Its lifespan is 15 years, with values up to 19 years reported by sources.

### How many eggs does the kentish plover lay?

It lays 3 eggs per clutch, with 1.5 clutches per year, and the incubation period is 25 days.

### Who named the kentish plover?

Its scientific name, Charadrius alexandrinus, was given by Linnaeus, 1758.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/kentish-plover