see the table Plovers (/ˈplʌvər/ PLUV-ər,[1] also US: /ˈploʊvər/ PLOH-vər)[2] are members of a widely distributed group of wading birds of subfamily Charadriinae.

At various times the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings of family Charadriidae have been distributed among several subfamilies, with Charadriinae including most of the species.

[5] The North American Classification Committee of the AOS and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World separate the four members of genus Pluvialis as subfamily Pluvialinae.

[3] Plovers are found throughout the world, with the exception of the Sahara and the polar regions, and are characterised by relatively short bills.

They feed mainly on insects, worms or other invertebrates, depending on the habitat, which are obtained by a run-and-pause technique, rather than the steady probing of some other wader groups.