European Golden Plover

Pluvialis apricaria (Linnaeus, 1758)

European Golden Plover, Pluvialis apricaria, breeds across the Palearctic, from inland Arctic areas into the temperate zone, including Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the British Isles, northern Germany and Denmark, Fennoscandia, and east to the Taimyr Peninsula in north-central Russia. In the non-breeding season it moves to inland and coastal parts of southern Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East. It is a plover with a thickset build and wings that are only a little longer than the tail. Its most notable mark is a white S-shaped band running from the forehead to the flanks.

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Charadriidae — Plovers

Breeding range

Palearctic: inland low Arctic (mainly) to temperate zone: ec Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Is., British Isles, n Germany and Denmark, Fennoscandia, Baltic e to Taimyr Pen. (nc Russia)

Nonbreeding range

to inland and coastal s Europe, n Africa to Middle East