American Golden Plover

American Golden-Plover male on its breeding territory near Anaktuvuk Pass.

NPS/Jared Hughey

 

Pluvialis dominica
Family: Charadriidae

“The Golden Plover is an aristocrat among birds. Everything about it is distinctive. The jet black breast and belly, the golden yellow back and striking head markings of the breeding plumage would in themselves be enough to set it apart in any assemblage of its relatives. In addition it has rather stately and dignified movements in contrast to the darting hasty nervousness of so many shorebirds whether feeding, migrating or on the breeding grounds. The downy chicks are also among the loveliest of all young birds, their yellow backs being startlingly different from the usual blacks, browns and grays affected by most newly hatched youngsters of the shorebird clan.” –Gabrielson and Lincoln (1959), The Birds of Alaska

The American Golden-Plover is a conspicuous shorebird on the tundra. Similar in appearance to Black-bellied Plover, and especially Pacific Golden-Plover, it is identified from Pacific Golden-Plover (unrecorded in Gates of the Arctic) by relative proportions (bill, legs, and primary projection) and, in breeding (alternate) plumage, the extent of white on the sides of the breast. The American Golden-Plover’s sleek shape and long wings are clues as to its marathon migration between the North American Arctic and the South American Pampas and Campos.

 

Species Profile

Breeding habitat: Breeds in arctic and alpine tundra, particularly in drier areas where the substrate may be rocky and lichens, mountain avens (Dryas octopetala) and sparse shrubs and sedges are present. Nests in a shallow scrape, usually placed on a rocky site with lichens (especially Thamnolia vermicularis) and mountain avens. Eggs are heavily marked, making nests very difficult to locate.

Where to find in the park: In Gates of the Arctic, found on drier, raised landforms and foothills with alpine vegetation, particularly on the north side of the Brooks Range in the park.

Migration: Long-distant migrant, wintering in South America on the Pampas of Argentina and the Campos of Uruguay. Famously migrates in an elliptical pattern: after a final stopover in Canada or New England, many make the trip south to their wintering grounds in a nonstop trans-Atlantic flight and return to the arctic in spring along North America’s Central Flyway.

Behavior: Pairs maintain relatively large breeding territories. The male performs an extended ‘Butterfly Display’ flight, sometimes accompanied by the female. Both parents share in incubation and parental care duties. Individuals are also known to defend small territories on their South American wintering grounds to maintain access to feeding resources.

Interesting fact: The American Golden-Plover and Pacific Golden-Plover were long considered to be the same species, called the Lesser Golden-Plover, but it eventually became clear that individuals from each population do not interbreed in western Alaska where they occur together (sympatry). Pleistocene glaciation is hypothesized to have caused the two populations to become separated (allopatry), allowing speciation to occur.

Conservation and management: Listed as a species of high conservation concern in the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan in 2001, Audubon Alaska’s Red List of Declining Bird Populations in 2017, and the Alaska Shorebird Conservation Plan in 2019. Despite recovering from a significant population decline caused by excessive hunting in the 19th and early 20th century, the species appears to be in decline. Habitat changes across its distribution are main concerns, including a predicted 64% reduction of Arctic breeding habitat by 2070 due to climate warming.

 

American Golden-Plover abundance in the Americas.

Fink, D., T. Auer, A. Johnston, M. Strimas-Mackey, O. Robinson, S. Ligocki, W. Hochachka, C. Wood, I. Davies, M. Iliff, L. Seitz. 2020. eBird Status and Trends, Data Version: 2019; Released: 2020. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York.

 

References

Fink, D., T. Auer, A. Johnston, M. Strimas-Mackey, O. Robinson, S. Ligocki, W. Hochachka, C. Wood, I. Davies, M. Iliff, L. Seitz. 2020. eBird Status and Trends, Data Version: 2019; Released: 2020. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. https://doi.org/10.2173/ebirdst.2019

Johnson, O. W., P. G. Connors, and P. Pyle (2020). American Golden-Plover (Pluvialis dominica), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (P. G. Rodewald, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi-org.arlis.idm.oclc.org/10.2173/bow.amgplo.01

Warnock, N. 2017. The Alaska WatchList 2017. Audubon Alaska, Anchorage, AK 99501.

 

Return to Birds