American Golden Plover

Pluvialis dominica (Müller, PLS, 1776)

≈28 cmLength62 cmWingspan152 gWeight

The adult male has a black face and belly in the breeding season, with pale gold spots scattered over the back.

Busiest months: September · Most records: United States, Canada, Uruguay

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Adult male has a black face, breast and belly in the breeding season
Pale gold spots on the back in the breeding season
Winter plumage has gray-brown upperparts and a pale white supercilium
Small head and bill

Male, female and young

The female resembles the male in the breeding season but has less black; both sexes are gray-brown in winter plumage.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: September · Most records: United States, Canada, Uruguay

American Golden Plover has been recorded at 938 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 77 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Hagerman NWRUnited States1,691 records
Parker River NWRUnited States1,544 records
Whitefish PointUnited States1,507 records

More places

Hornsby BendUnited States1,406 records
Longridge PointCanada1,061 records
Eagle Bluffs CAUnited States1,050 records
Bombay Hook National Wildlife RefugeUnited States974 records
Río Lluta – DesembocaduraChile946 records
Hillman Marsh CACanada855 records
ChurchillCanada842 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United States Canada Uruguay Argentina Chile Brazil Peru United Kingdom

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The American golden plover (Pluvialis dominica) is a medium-sized plover. The genus name is Latin and means relating to rain, from pluvia, "rain". It was believed that golden plovers flocked when rain was imminent.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the American Golden Plover?

The American Golden Plover is about ≈28 cm long, with a wingspan of 62 cm and weighs around 152 g.

Where does the American Golden Plover live?

Its breeding range: North America: high Arctic to subarctic, Alaska and northern, northeastern Canada: northwestern, northern, eastern Alaska, Yukon to north-central British Columbia east to western Hudson Bay and Baffin Island (northeastern Canada). It is most often recorded in United States, Canada and Uruguay.

When is the best time to see the American Golden Plover?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in September (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the American Golden Plover endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the American Golden Plover as Least Concern.

What does the American Golden Plover eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the American Golden Plover in?

It belongs to the family Plovers (Charadriidae), order Charadriiformes.

At a glance

Length: ≈28 cm
Wingspan: 62 cm
Weight: 152 g
Habitat: Grassland
Diet: Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle: Active on the ground
Migration: Migratory
Conservation: Least Concern

More measurements

Wing: 182 mm
Tail: 66 mm
Bill: 26 mm
Tarsus: 40 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

North America: high Arctic to subarctic, Alaska and northern, northeastern Canada: northwestern, northern, eastern Alaska, Yukon to north-central British Columbia east to western Hudson Bay and Baffin Island (northeastern Canada)

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2