Pacific Golden Plover
Golden Plover ( Pluvialis apricaria ) in breeding plumage
The Siberian Golden Plover ( Pluvialis fulva ), also called the tundra plovers or Pacific golden plover, is a monotypic species of the family of the plover. The breeding in the northern Palaearctic species occurs in Europe almost regularly as a migrant and Irrgast. In the Netherlands it is common to observe as the prairie plover.
Description
The Siberian Golden Plover reaches a body length of 23-26 inches and weighs 100-162 grams. The wingspan is about sixty to seventy centimeters. Compared with that in Central Europe regularly by executive and also very isolated breeding golden plover the Siberian golden plover is long-legged and langflügeliger. In breeding plumage the black body bottom is extended.
In breeding plumage the face and the neck is black with a white boundary. The breast is also black. The body top is spotted striking. The full moult into simplicity dress goes through these Regenpfeiferart after the breeding in the period July to December. In the rest of the dress Siberian Golden Plover is colored inconspicuous brownish. Chest and face are yellowish brown, the underparts are whitish. The legs are black in all the dresses.
Dissemination and lifestyle
The Siberian golden plover is a breeding bird of the tundra of northern Siberia. Its range extends there from the Yamal Peninsula to the Bering Strait and Kamchatka. It also occurs in the west of Alaska. He is a long-distance migrant and winters in Southeast Asia, in the Australis as well as on the coasts of northern East Africa. A few winter visitors are also observed on the coast of Southern California. As Irrgast he has already been observed in most European countries. Even in Turkey, Jordan and Egypt, this type is already surfaced. Relatively regularly it is observed on the Arabian Peninsula and especially in the United Arab Emirates and Oman. On the coast of Eritrea and Somalia, it is a relatively regular winter visitor.
From his breeding areas he usually takes off from the end of July and beginning of August. The first wintering birds reach Africa in August. During the passage he keeps himself to kurzrasigen pastures, prairies, mud flats, as well as lake and river shores. For the kind of high Brutorttreue has been proven. This is particularly marked in the males.
System
For a long time was considered the Siberian Plover for a subspecies of migrant plover. However, the area of distribution of these two species overlap in places in the west of Alaska and - less frequently - on the Chukotka. In this area there is no mixing between these two types, what the occasion was to give the Siberian plover a separate species status.