American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica)

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A Field Guide to Eastern Birds. by Roger Tory Peterson.

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Color Photograph: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Color Photograph: U.S. National Parks Service

American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica)

Identification: Length from tip of bill to tip of tail 9 to 11 inches.

Summer: Back, wings, and crown of head a mixture of dark brown and golden yellow spots. Upper half of head white in a stripe extending from the forehead, down the neck, to the sides of the body. Underside, neck, and lower half of the head black. Rump black.

Winter: Back and crown of the head brown, flecked with white. Underside dirty white, streaked with dull gray-brown. A diffuse brown band arising from the rear margin of the eye. Rump dirty gray-white.

Similar Species:  The American Golden Plover is most similar to the Black-bellied Plover. The summer Black-bellied Plover, however, lacks the golden to olive-yellow tones on the back and wings and is black and white instead. The rump is white, not black. The winter versions of the two species are nearly identical. The Black-bellied Plover has a black patch on at the base of the underside of the wing and a white stripe near the rear margin of the wing (both seen only in flight). The winter Black-bellied Plover is slightly larger in size, the rump is slightly whiter, and the bill slightly larger and thicker.

Breeding Range (see map below): The American Golden Plover breeds in the arctic tundra regions of northern Alaska and Canada.

Overwintering Range:  This species overwinters in the Patagonian region of southern South America.

Habitat:  The American Golden Plover breeds on the tundra. During migration the species is found on coastal beaches and mudflats or inland on prairies. Overwintering individuals are found in the pampas and steppe of Argentina.

Food: Insects and fruit. During migration small invertebrates in coastal areas.

Behavior: The American Golden Plover is perhaps the world's champion migrator, moving from the far northern tundra in the summer to the the steppes and pampas of Argentina during the winter. The voice is a clear, short, oodle-oo.

Reproduction:  The clutch consists of 3 or 4 light tan eggs spotted with brown. The eggs are laid in a shallow depression in the tundra lined with reindeer moss. The nest is usually placed on an elevated located in the tundra.