I posted this on the end of an earlier thread but no joy.
I sent an email to John Chardine about this AGP versus EGP dilemma that we have over here in Ireland. Maybe I could get some further input. There are two of Ireland's leading identity experts arguing about this particular birds id . It is posted as an AGP I am of the view it is EGP it was photographed about 10 days ago. Sadly not Birdphotographers.net image quality ;-)
For the non-birders in the group, the debate is over American Golden-plover vs. European Golden-plover. I have no experience seperating the two, so I'll stay out of the debate. :)
Separating American from European Golden Plover isn't easy.Where moulting adults and sub- standard photos are involved things become even more difficult. I have a great deal of experience with AMGP,mainly juv's and moulting adults, as we rarely see them in spring.Actually European Golden Plover is more common that American Golden Plover in spring in Newfoundland!! I've seen maybe 30 European Golden Plovers,mainly spring adults,so this is not a plumage that I'm really familiar with. However, if I saw this bird amount a fall flock of moulting AMGP here in Newfoundland I think it would stand out and warrant further scrutiny. I'm not going to take a definitive stand on either species but there are a few things about this bird that just don't seem right for American Golden Plover to me.
1) structure/ overall jizz a full profile shot would be useful here,but from the photos to me this bird looks dumpy and "pot bellied", not quite as sleek as an American Golden Plover.
2) bill- seems perhaps on the small side for AMGP- to me this bird appears to have a steep forehead and appears to looks small headed compared ot it's overall body size.
3) wings- axillaries (armpits) seem pretty white for AMGP.
- wingstripe on upperside looks pretty extensive as well- perhaps on the large side for AMGP
- wing projection- doens;t apepar particularly long winged- it's tough to tell from the angle,but the winds don;t appear to extend beyond the tail- but more importantly it looks like only about 3 primaries past the tertials..but it's really hard to tell from the photos.
Do you have a link to the discussion? Is it on BIRDWG01 ( Frontiers of Field Identification listserv)? I'm wondering what it is about this bird that makes people think American Golden Plover?