Birds of the World

    CHARADRIIFORMES: Charadriidae (Plovers)  
Genus: Pluvialis (4 species)


European Golden Plover
European Golden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria)
Range: PAL: inland low Arctic (mainly) to temperate zone: ec Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Is., British Is., n Germany and Denmark, Fennoscandia, Baltic e to Taimyr Pen. (nc Russia)
Finland  
 
Photograph by Andrej Chudy     Copyright and usage info


American Golden Plover
American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica)
Range: NA: high Arctic to subarctic, Alaska and n, ne Canada: nw, n, e Alaska, Yukon to nc British Columbia e to w Hudson Bay and Baffin I. (ne Canada)
Wahoo, Nebraska, United States
  The non-breeding American Golden Plover looks a lot like the non-breeding Grey Plover, but check for a thicker eyebrow.
   
Photograph by Kelly Colgan Azar     Copyright and usage info

American Golden Plover
American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica)
Range: NA: high Arctic to subarctic, Alaska and n, ne Canada: nw, n, e Alaska, Yukon to nc British Columbia e to w Hudson Bay and Baffin I. (ne Canada)
Nome, Alaska, United States  
   
Photograph by budgora     Copyright and usage info

Golden Plovers have gold feathers on the back in breeding plumage. The similar Grey Plover does not.

Pacific Golden Plover
Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva)
Range: PAL: Arctic mainland Russia and subarctic e Russia and w Alaska: Yamal Pen. (nc Siberia) to Chukotskiy Pen., n Kamchatka and n Sea of Okhotsk (e Siberia), and Wrangel I. (n of ne Siberia); Chukchi and Bering Sea coasts of w Alaska and satellites, including St.
Boat Harbour, New South Wales, Australia  
   
Photograph by JJ Harrison     Copyright and usage info


Grey Plover
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
Range: NA, PAL: high (locally low) Arctic coasts and is. (except Ellesmere I., Greenland, Scandinavia and is. from Svalbard to Severnaya Zemlya)
Long Key State Park, Florida Keys, USA  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Grey Plover
Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
Range: NA, PAL: high (locally low) Arctic coasts and is. (except Ellesmere I., Greenland, Scandinavia and is. from Svalbard to Severnaya Zemlya)
Curry Hammock State Park, Florida, USA  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Once called the Black-bellied Plover because of black belly in breeding plumage. The non-breeding Grey Plover looks a lot like the non-breeding American Golden Plover, but check for a thin eyebrow, and black feathers inside the wing where it meets the body (axillaries) (Birds of Costa Rica).


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