American Golden Plover is a medium sized
plover. Adults are spangled gold and black on the crown, back
and wings. Their face and neck are black with a white border,
they have a black breast and a dark rump and the legs are black. It
is similar to two other golden plovers, Eurasian and Pacific.
The American Golden Plover is smaller, slimmer and relatively
longer-legged than Eurasian Golden Plover which also has white
axillary feathers. It is more similar to Pacific Golden Plover
with which it was once considered conspecific under the name
'Lesser Golden Plover'.
There has been just one American Golden
Plover reported from S. Gloucestershire;
2002: (1)
On January 1st one was seen and heard in
flight south over New Passage around 08:00.(In flight south, an
obvious Lesser Golden Plover, call precluded Pacific Golden
Plover - pluvialis fulva.(pers com Brian Lancastle, Paul Bowerman)