Kentish plover

Charadrius alexandrinus

The Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) is a bird found in Taiwan, Spain, France, India, Portugal and United Arab Emirates. Sandy beaches, salt lakes and lagoons across Europe, Asia and Africa. It eats insects and other small invertebrates. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Charadrius alexandrinus
Region	Asia
Found in	Taiwan, Spain, France, India, Portugal and United Arab Emirates

🏡 Where the Kentish plover lives

Sandy beaches, salt lakes and lagoons across Europe, Asia and Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs100%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It nests in a simple scrape on bare sand, and its eggs are so well camouflaged that they are hard to see.

Hear the Kentish plover

Recorded by David Darrell-Lambert (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1103310. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Kentish plover

Where does the Kentish plover live?

The Kentish plover lives in Taiwan, Spain, France, India, Portugal and United Arab Emirates. Sandy beaches, salt lakes and lagoons across Europe, Asia and Africa.

What does the Kentish plover eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 100%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Kentish plover endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Asia

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.