Featured Photo: Identification of Adult Pacific and American Golden Plovers in their Southbound Migration

Connors (1983) and Connors et al. (1993) confirmed that American (Pluvialis dominica) and Pacific (P. fulva) Golden-Plovers breeding in sympatry in Alaska are distinct species, a conclusion adopted by the A.O.U. (1993). Distinguishing these two species requires that the bird’s age or plumage class be determined first before the species can be identified.

Alvaro Jaramillo, Western Birds: Vol. 35, No. 2, 2004