Male: Breeding: Upperparts, wing coverts, dark with gold speckling (finer than that of Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva)). Throat, breast, belly, undertail coverts, totally black. White line running from forehead, eyebrow, to sides of breast. Underwing lining, pale grey. An indistinct wing bar. When standing wing tips project noticeably beyond tail tip. Bill, black. Legs, grey-black. Non-breeding: Upperparts to tail dull brown, with buff-grey to cream spots. Breast, golden-brown to grey. Eyebrow is distinct. An indistinct wing bar. Underparts, white. Bill, black. Legs, grey-black.
Female: Like male but duller. White specks may be present throughout the underparts.
Juveniles: Upperparts, blackish, with some yellowing on the coverts.
Other Names (World)
American Golden Plover, American Golden-Plover, Golden Plover, Lesser Golden Plover, Pacific Golden Plover, Eastern Golden Plover
Rare, possibly vagrant to Australia. Sightings on coasts of Qld (Cairns), NSW (Byron Bay) and WA (Anna Plains) and St. Kilda Saltfields (SA) unconfirmed.
Habitat
Dry tunda slopes during breeding season. Coastal intertidal mudflats and grasslands.
Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada (B) (P), Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, St Lucia, St Pierre and Miquelon (P), St Vincent and The Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uruguay (NB), USA (B), Venezuela, Virgin Islands (British) (NB), Virgin Islands (U.S.) (NB).
Vagrant to Cape Verde, Côte dIvoire, Denmark, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Finland, France, Gambia, Germany, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Portugal, Russia (Asian), Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Togo, Turkey, United Kingdom.
Unknown to Honduras.
Western Alaska east through northern Canada to Baffin I. Winters in South America south to Tierra del Fuego.
American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica) [XC149500]
by Andrew Spencer from Ikroavik Lake, Barrow, North Slope Borough, Alaska, United States (alarm call)
American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica) [XC356253]
by Frank Lambert from Denali Highway MP13-41, Valdez-Cordova County (near Delta Junction), Alaska, United States (call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. Breeds in Arctic North America.
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Subspecies
Form superspecies with Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva) and was previously considered conspecific.
No subspecies.
Similar Species
Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva)
Slightly smaller. Non-breeding with non-breeding. Body appears browner, almost yellow in some cases. Eyebrow is buffer, with a dark, but small spot behind the eye. Underparts are buffy yellow with streaks on the neck and upper breast, which can turn into mottling along the flanks.
Eurasian Golden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria)
Slightly larger. Non-breeding with non-breeding. Belly, flanks, white, the breastband shows a cut-off with the lower breast. Underwings, pure white.
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
Slightly larger. Non-breeding with non-breeding. Upperparts, brownish grey with white tips and edges to feathers. Legs, black. Underwing lining white, with black axillaries.
Oriental Plover (Charadrius veredus)
Smaller. Non-breeding with non-breeding. Lacks mottling on upperparts and breast. Legs, yellowish or pinkish yellow.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
BirdLife International Species Factsheet