American Golden Plover?

[Ron Sprunger]

This guy was on the move, and I got only one half-way decent picture. This isn't it, because I wanted to show his belly. This was April 11 at Fort De Soto. I haven't been able to match him to anything, but I saw some Pacific Golden Plovers last week in Hawaii, and this guy looks like them, except for color. Bill is right, and legs look about right, but he doesn't match either breeding or non-breeding. Is he or she by any chance just molting to breeding? Or wrong track altogether?

Nikon D7000, 500mm f/4 @500mm
f/4, 1/2000, ISO 400, distance = 9.4 m

99642

[Paul Guris]

I think this bird is a a Black-bellied Plover (BBPL) molting into breeding plumage. Here's my reasoning:


Pacific Golden-Plover (PAGP) would be a real rarity in Florida, so let's compare this bird mainly to American Golden-Plover (AMGP).
Although the head angle is causing some distortion, the bill looks big to me for AMGP.
The general color of the plumage looks better to me for BBPL, especially the white spots on the feather edges. I believe the brownish coloration in some of the feathers is from winter and fits BBPL. The new looking feathers near the bird's rear look crisp black and white which is correct for BBPL.
The black molting into the belly doesn't seem to really reach the shoulder which is correct for BBPL. You'd expect it to come up that far on AMGP.
The undertail is pure white and has no black molting into it. This is correct for BBPL and not for AMGP.


Molting birds can be tough, but compare what you see to photos of breeding plumage birds. There's some good photos of both AMGP and BBPL at BirdFellow for comparison to your bird.

American Golden-Plover:
http://www.birdfellow.com/birds/american-golden-plover-pluvialis-dominica

(http://www.birdfellow.com/birds/american-golden-plover-pluvialis-dominica)Black-bellied Plover:
http://www.birdfellow.com/birds/black-bellied-plover-pluvialis-squatarola

[Ron Sprunger]

Paul, thank you for the thoughtful and detailed response. Don't know why I locked into American rather than Black-bellied, except that they're separated by a couple birds in Sibley's. I'll try to absorb the points of observation you mention tonight. Being totally new to birding, and never having seen any of these birds, I'm finding it tough sledding when the bird doesn't match pretty closely to the pictures in the guides. I'm surprised Sibley doesn't provide some discussion on points of distinction between these two birds specifically. (Or maybe I missed it, if it's on the Black-bellied side of the page.)

Thanks again,
Ron

[Arthur Morris]

This is a classic molting adult black-belly. AMGP is much daintier with a much smaller head and bill. And here is the clincher: AMGP does not have the vestigial hind toe that you see on this bird :).

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[Ron Sprunger]

Thanks Artie, I may just get your book. Sibley doesn't mention the vestigial toe, though his drawing clearly shows it.

[Dave Irons]

This bird is indeed a transitional Black-bellied Plover for the reasons put forth by Paul and Artie. One thing they did not mention was the timing of molt in northbound Pluvialis plovers. In April, you will likely not find any Golden or Black-bellied Plover in a plumage that resembles those illustrated in standard field guides. Birds of this genus undergo their prealternate molt (results in alternate or breeding plumage) during their northbound migrations. I used to live in east-central Illinois right in the heart of the migration route for northbound American Golden-Plovers. At times during spring migration I would see up to 5000 of these birds on my way to and from work (a 12-mile drive). During the migratory peak (late April- early May) I would see 10's of thousands of Am. Golden-Plovers and seemingly no two looked alike. They were all in various stages of prealternate molt, ranging from birds that looked like they had completed this molt to others that looked like they had only replaced a few of their winter feathers (basic plumage) and everything in between. Similarly, Black-bellied Plovers seen during April in Oregon (where I live now) look very much like the bird in your photo.

One of the focal points of the BirdFellow project is to amass galleries of images that show the full range of plumages a bird might show, not just the definitive plumages one sees in printed guides. This excellent photo would be a wonderful addition to our gallery for B-B Plover if you would be so inclined.

Dave Irons
Content Editor BirdFellow.com

[Ron Sprunger]

Thanks for the additional information Dave. I'd be happy to post it to BirdFellow if I can figure out how to do it tonight. I think I have another individual or two with different stages of black fill-in as well, if that would help.

BirdFellow.com is a great resource, and well worth supporting. I did pay my dues, btw, despite your lifting the dues requirement. Hope you can continue to grow the site.