American Golden-Plover

Male American Golden-Plover, breeding plumage, Churchill, Manitoba; June

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Juvenile American Golden-Plover, Ventura, CA. October.

Juvenile American Golden-Plover, Jamaica Bay WR, Queens, NY; September.

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A large shorebird of pastures, open ground, and mudflats, the American Golden-Plover makes one of the longest migratory journeys of any shorebird. It breeds on the high Arctic tundra of Alaska and Canada and winters in the grasslands of central and southern South America.

Description

• Medium-sized to large shorebird.
• Legs moderately long.
• Neck short.
• Bill short.
• Head large and rounded.
• Golden and black speckled back.
• In breeding plumage, black from face to under tail.

• Size: 24-28 cm (9-11 in)
• Wingspan: 57 cm (22 in)
• Weight: 122-194 g (4.31-6.85 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes similar, but female in breeding plumage less colorful than male, with varying amounts of white in face and breast. Female may have white cheek patches.

Sound

Song a rapid series of abrupt whistled notes. Flight call a whistled "que-del," or "tuu-u-ee."

Conservation Status

Market hunting in 19th and early 20th centuries caused major decline in American Golden-Plover numbers. One estimate of a single day's kill near New Orleans was 48,000. Population rebounded after hunting ended.

Other Names

Pluvier doré d'Amérique, Pluvier fauve (French)
Chorlo dorado, Chorlo pampa, Chorlo axiliclaro (Spanish)
American Golden Plover, Golden Plover (in part), Lesser Golden-Plover (in part) (English)

Cool Facts

• The American Golden-Plover has a long, circular migration route. In the fall it flies offshore from the East Coast of North America nonstop to South America. On the return in the spring it passes primarily through the middle of North America to reach its Arctic breeding grounds.

• Adult American Golden-Plovers leave their Arctic breeding grounds in early summer, but juveniles usually linger until late summer or fall. Some adults arrive on the wintering grounds in southern South America before the last juveniles have left the Arctic.

Sources used to construct this page:

Johnson, O. W., and P. G. Connors. 1996. American Golden-Plover (Pluvialis dominica), Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva). In The Birds of North America, No. 201-202 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.