#0872 · 🐦 birds

American Golden-Plover

🇳🇱 Amerikaanse Goudplevier ·Pluvialis dominica

LCleast concern 🐦 Birds 📍 in the Netherlands

8 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

what is it?

The American golden plover ( Pluvialis dominica ) is a medium-sized plover. The genus name is Latin and means relating to rain, from pluvia , "rain". It was believed that golden plovers flocked when rain was imminent. The species name dominica refers to Santo Domingo, now Hispaniola, in the West Indies.

base stats

NL sightings 8iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 7,811iNaturalist observations
weight 145 gadult, up to
threat LCleast concern

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

Spotted 8 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
7,811 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Weighs only about 145 g.
Scientifically named by Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller in 1776 (250 years ago).

fact sheet

English: American Golden-Plover
Nederlands: Amerikaanse Goudplevier
scientific name: Pluvialis dominica
class: Aves
order: Charadriiformes
family: Charadriidae
IUCN Red List: LC · least concern
sightings in NL: 8
sightings in Europe: 174
sightings worldwide: 7,811
GBIF records in NL: 3,452
weight: 145 g
length: —
lifespan: —
named: 1776 by Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller

IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.

relatives· Charadriidae

Sources: iNaturalist taxon 4893, Wikidata Q216836, GBIF 2480328, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.