Golden-plover

Golden-plovers, Pluvialis is a genus of plovers, a group of wading birds. There are four species which breed in the temperate or Arctic Northern Hemisphere.

Description
The largest of the North American plovers, at 25 - 29 cm, with weights of 100 - 395 g and wingpans of 60 - 83 cm;  members of this tundra-breeding genus are plump and tall. Their breeding plumage is impressive: black bellies, less so in females, with white- or gold-spangled upperparts. Their basic (winter) plumage is dull, usually greyish or dingy brown.

In breeding plumage, they all have largely black underparts, and golden or silvery upperparts. They have relatively short bills and feed mainly on insects, worms or other invertebrates, depending on habitat, which are obtained by a run-and-pause technique, rather than the steady probing of some other wader groups. They hunt by sight, rather than by feel as do longer-billed waders.

Behaviour
They feed in the typical plover fashion and usually fly and roost in flocks. The Pacific Golden-Plover is a powerful flier known for its long, transoceanic migrations.

Taxonomy
The golden-plovers are closely related to stilts, avocets, oystercatchers, and ibisbill (Ericson et al., 2003a; Baker et al., 2007; Fain and Houde, 2007).

The American and Pacific Golden Plovers were formerly considered conspecific as "Lesser Golden Plover" (Sangster et al., 2002).

Species
1 genus, 4 species


 * European Golden Plover, Pluvialis apricaria
 * Pacific Golden Plover, Pluvialis fulva
 * American Golden Plover, Pluvialis dominica
 * Grey Plover or Black-bellied Plover, Pluvialis squatarola