American Golden Plovers
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Adults are spotted gold and black on the crown, back and wings. Their face and neck are black with a white border; they have a black breast and a dark rump. The legs are black.
It is similar to two other golden plovers, Eurasian and Pacific. American Golden Plover is smaller, slimmer and relatively longer-legged than Eurasian Golden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria) which also has white axillary (armpit) feathers. It is more similar to Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva) with which it was once considered conspecific under the name "Lesser Golden Plover" (reviewed in Sangster et al., 2002). The Pacific Golden Plover is slimmer than the American species, has a shorter primary projection, and longer legs, and is usually yellower on the back.
The breeding habitat of American Golden Plover is arctic tundra from northern Canada and Alaska. They nest on the ground in a dry open area.
They are migratory and winter in northern South America. They follow an elliptical migration path; northbound birds stage in great numbers in places like Illinois, but in fall, they take a more easterly route, flying mostly over the western Atlantic and Caribbean Sea to the wintering grounds in Patagonia. It is a regular vagrant to western Europe.
These birds forage for food on tundra, fields, beaches and tidal flats, usually by sight. They eat insects and crustaceans, also berries.
A comparison of dates and migratory patterns leads to the conclusion that Eskimo Curlews and American Golden Plovers were the most likely shore birds to have attracted the attention of Christopher Columbus to nearby land after 65 days at sea out of sight of land on his first voyage.
Large numbers were shot in the late 1800s and the population has never fully recovered.
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Relevant Web Resources: USGS
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