Pluvialis dominica eggs and nest.jpg
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

'' Pluvialis '' is a genus of plovers, a group of wading birds comprising four species that breed in the temperate or Arctic
Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...
. In breeding plumage, they all have largely black underparts, and golden or silvery upperparts. They have relatively short bills and feed mainly on insects, worms or other invertebrates, depending on habitat, which are obtained by a run-and-pause technique, rather than the steady probing of some other wader groups. They hunt by sight, rather than by feel as do longer-billed waders.


Taxonomy

The genus ''Pluvialis'' was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the European golden plover (''Pluvialis apricaria'') as the type species. The genus name is Latin and means relating to rain, from ''pluvia'', "rain". It was believed that they flocked when rain was imminent. The genus contains four species: The American and Pacific golden plovers were formerly considered conspecific as "lesser golden plover".


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2359014 Bird genera