PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOVER
The Hawaiian name for the plover is kolea, which means "boastful."
The name plover comes from a French word meaning "the rain bird."
The Pacific golden plover is an amusing bird to watch as it searches
for food on fields, lawns and mud flats. When feeding, the plover
darts a few steps forward on its long legs. It stops and pokes its
beak into the ground to find an insect or small snail to eat. Then
it runs a few feet in another direction, stops, eats a bite and
off it goes again. These busy birds are helpful in controlling insect
pests. The Pacific golden plover spend the fall and winter months
in Hawaii, where they can be seen on all the islands. They also
winter in New Zealand, Australia, southern Asia and on other Pacific
islands. In its winter home in Hawaii and the Pacific area the Pacific
golden plover wears dark, grey-brown feathers with gold spots on
its back. It has a light brown color on its belly. It is about 11
inches tall. With its long legs and graceful posture, it seems very
proud of its beauty. In April of each year the birds molt - they
shed some of their feathers and grow new ones of different colors.
The new belly and breast feathers are black. A white line goes around
the top of the forehead and down the sides of the neck and breast.
This is the golden plover's breeding plumage. It is ready to migrate
and to mate. |
The Hawaiian name for the plover is kolea, which means “boastful”.
The name plover comes from the French word meaning “the rain bird”.
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MIGRATION - WHERE THE PLOVERS FLY
Each spring, around the first of May, the Pacific golden plovers
leave their Hawaiian homes in flocks, or large groups, and head
north. They fly 2,000 miles to their nesting grounds in Alaska
and Siberia. The plovers are able to land on water and take off
again, but scientists don't know if they rest on the water during
their long trip, or if they fly non-stop. If they do not stop
to rest, it would take them two days and nights to fly to Alaska
from Hawaii. Birds migrating from southern New Zealand must fly
over 8,000 miles. That could be more than eight full days in flight!
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This map shows the great migrating distances flown by plovers,
from New Zealand and Australia, far away north to Alska and
Siberia.
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NESTING AND BREEDING
The Pacific golden plover arrive in the northern breeding grounds
in pairs, not in flocks as they were when they left Hawaii. The
pairs of birds choose nesting sites on the tundra, a low-lying
treeless area covered with gravel, moss, grass and lichens. Only
the surface of the tundra thaws, leaving pools of water where
mosquitoes and other insects hatch. In June, when the plovers
are ready to breed in Alaska and Siberia, the sun is shining for
20 hours each day. After their long migration the birds can feast
on the insects that are so plentiful as the northern summer arrives.
Each plover pair's nesting territory is about the size of a football
field. They often must defend their area against predators such
as foxes, other birds and humans. Plovers attack by running at
the enemy with heads down and wings lifted, screeching loudly.
They may also pretend to be hurt and lead an enemy away from the
next. The Pacific golden plovers make a simple nest by scraping
a shallow bowl in the gravel and lining it with bits of lichen,
grass and moss. The female lays four brown spotted eggs and both
parents help with the egg-tending. The chicks hatch after three
to four weeks. Very soon after birth they are able to feed themselves
on insects near the nest.
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MIGRATION - RETURN FLIGHT
The adult Pacific golden plovers begin to return to Hawaii and
other Pacific winter homes during the first week in August. They
are molting again, losing their black belly feathers and white
head stripes. The young plovers, which are only about two months
old, usually arrive about two weeks after the adults. Their plumage
is almost the same as the adults' feathers. By September, we can
once again see these handsome friends on our lawns and in the
fields.
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