'' 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
