American Golden-Plover

How to find it

Plan around spring, between January and April, when northbound birds pass through. Look on open ground such as fields and pastures, and on shorelines and mudflats, which are places the species uses on migration. Wet grassy areas and rice fields are worth a scan, and a flock of Pectoral Sandpipers may hold a golden-plover. Check any golden-plover flock closely, because American Golden-Plovers have been seen with the very rare Pacific Golden-Plover at Puntarenas. Watch for a bird resting on one leg.

How to recognise it

In breeding plumage the adult has a black face, neck, breast and belly. Young birds look similar but have yellow-buff spotting.

Out of breeding plumage it is speckled brown, with a pale eyebrow, a dark cap and buffy underparts. It is smaller and slighter than a Black-bellied Plover, with a finer bill.

The Black-bellied Plover is the bird it most resembles, and the differences are plain once you know them:

- No white rump.

- No white wing stripe.

- A little smaller.

- A bill tip that is less sharply pointed.

- No dark patch under the wing at the armpit.

On Isla del Coco, the casual visitors show a thin bill, brown crown and back, and a white eyebrow.

What it sounds like

Recording: Dan MacNeal, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

It hunts by running a short way, then stopping suddenly to look for insects and other small prey. It probes the ground with its bill and also chases prey.

Birds often stand on one leg while resting. If disturbed, they may hop on that leg quite far before switching to a normal gait. These are general traits of the species, not tied to Costa Rica. Migrants often flock with Pectoral Sandpipers.

Where it lives

On migration the species in general uses prairies, fields, pastures, mudflats, shorelines and beaches, and it winters in grasslands. Migrants like wet grassy areas and farm areas such as rice fields.

In Costa Rica, a University of Costa Rica page calls it a casual visitor to Isla del Coco, where it is seen on grass and rocks around Wafer Bay and Chatham Bay. It has also been recorded at Puntarenas and Tortuguero.

When to see it

Birds heading north pass through Central America between January and April. Two were recorded at Puntarenas in late March 2023, by which time they appeared to have flown north, which shows spring passage.

Similar birds

The Black-bellied Plover is the usual confusion: the American is a little smaller, with a less sharply pointed bill tip, and lacks the white rump, white wing stripe and dark armpit patch. The Pacific Golden-Plover is slimmer, with a shorter bill, longer legs and usually more yellow on the back. The two were once treated as one species.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

The Costa Rican list gives the name Chorlito Dorado Menor. The Pacific Golden-Plover is listed separately as Chorlito Dorado del Pacífico and is Accidental. Other general Spanish names include chorlito dorado americano, chorlito dorado chico and chorlo pampa.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list marks it as a migrant (M), and globally the IUCN rates it Least Concern, though its population is decreasing.

Photography tips

Scan golden-plover flocks for the slimmer, longer-legged Pacific. Watch for the moment a bird stops mid-run and bobs, which makes a natural pause for a shot.