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American Golden-Plover
Pluvialis dominica
Family: CHARADRIIDAE
Order: Charadriiformes
Spanish Common Name: Chorlo dorado, Chorlo axiliclaro, Chorlo pampa
French Common Name: Pluvier bronzé
(c) Jim Fenton |
Courtesy Kenn Kaufman |
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Conservation Status
Global Population: 150,000
Continental Population: 150,000
Watchlist Status: 
Audubon State of the Birds Status: Moderate population declines, small population size
The swift-flying American Golden-Plover, beautifully clad with brown and gold-speckled plumage, is a champion long-distance migrant. This medium-sized shorebird shows up every spring in the pastures, fields, and prairies of the continent's heartland, where it feasts on a profusion of insects to fortify itself during its northbound journey.
Range & Distribution
American Golden-Plovers spend summers in their breeding grounds in western Alaska, across northern Canada to Baffin Island, and southward to northern British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario. They also breed in easternmost Siberia. In winter, the birds primarily inhabit the vast Rio de la Plata grasslands of Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil.
Population Status & Trends
Limited information is available on current American Golden-Plover population trends. During the 19th and 20th centuries, they were decimated by unrestrained hunting. When hunting became illegal, the population rallied, but has not returned to its former abundance.
Conservation Issues & Efforts
According to various historical accounts, American Golden-Plovers were once so numerous they darkened the sky. By the early 20th century, excessive market and sport hunting had taken a devastating toll on these shorebirds. One estimate of a single day's kill near New Orleans in 1821 was 48,000—nearly a third of the current total population. The species rebounded after hunting was prohibited in 1918. But habitat loss, particularly in the species' wintering range, is thought to have prevented the population from reaching its former size.
Most breeding ranges are intact and relatively undisturbed by humans, but winter ranges and migratory routes are less safe and under pressure from agriculture, ranching, pollution, tourism, and development. The plovers continue to be hunted in Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and Barbados. Since the species appears not to be threatened at this time, no management efforts are currently underway. However, the species would benefit from habitat preservation, additional research, and international shorebird educational programs.
What You Can Do
Conduct and report a migratory shorebird count according to the International Shorebird Survey standards.
For more actions you can take, including Audubon activities, please visit our resources page.
For More Information
References
Johnson, O. W., and P. G. Connors. 1996. American Golden-Plover (Pluvialis dominica), Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva). In The Birds of North America, No. 201–202 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eeds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and tThe American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.
Kaufman, Kenn. Lives of North American Birds.New York, 1996., Houghton Mifflin Company,
Sibley, David Allen. The Sibley Guide to Birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2000.
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