Pacific Golden Plover

The Pacific golden plover is a medium-sized plover about 25cm long with a wingspan of about 61cm. Lean birds weigh about 135g, rising to about 200g before the flight north. In breeding plumage the male is spangled gold and black on the crown, back and wings, with a black face, neck and breast bordered in white; the female is similar but her black breast is mottled. In non-breeding plumage the sexes look alike, with the black replaced by brown, grey and yellowish mottling and paler underparts. It has no subspecies (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds on Arctic tundra in Alaska and Siberia from May to July and migrates south in August and September to Asia, Australasia and Pacific islands, staying until April or May. Although a shorebird, it feeds mostly inland in open places with short vegetation. In Hawaii, wintering birds return to and defend the same territory year after year. In India it is a winter migrant. SoIB 2023 estimates a long-term decline of about 70% with a stable current trend, and rates it a Moderate conservation priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).