Charadrius is a genus of plovers, a group of wading birds. The genus name Charadrius is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. The name derives from Ancient Greekkharadrios a bird found in river valleys (kharadra, "ravine. Some believed the sight of it cured jaundice. They are found throughout the world. Species of the genus Aegialites (or Aegialitis) are now subsumed within Charadrius.