European Golden Plover

Pluvialis apricaria

Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Charadriidae
Presence in the Strait: Seasonal
Abundance: common
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Chorlito dorado europeo

31% of its open observations in the area are from January.

Photograph: Дмитрий Кошелев, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 26–29 cm
Wingspan: 67–76 cm
Weight: 220 g

Presence in the Strait

Common winter visitor to crop and pasture fields and meadows with pronounced inter-annual fluctuation in number of birds (200-6,500 birds).

Identification

Very similar to Grey Plover, but with yellowishgreen tones and white armpits. Summer plumage is black from face to belly.

Movements

Arrive in September and may stay until beginning of May, with peaks in 1st hf. November. Unconspicuous prenuptial migration, manifested as a gradual abandonment of winter areas.

Ring recoveries

Holland (26), Sweden (2), Belgium (2), Finland (1) and Iceland (1).

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

31 %

Peak in January. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 3 February 1963
Latest record: 8 January 2026

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: LC · Least concern · wintering or migrating
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Annex I of the Birds Directive

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Where they come from

32 birds ringed in other countries and recovered in the area.

Netherlands26
Sweden2
Belgium2
Finland1
Iceland1

See the journey on the map

Same genus in the Strait

Grey Plover27–30 cm · Seasonal · overlapping size
American Golden Plover23–28 cm · Vagrant · overlapping size

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Charadriidae
GBIF taxon key: 2480332

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Дмитрий Кошелев, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

European Golden Plover

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Ring recoveries

Gallery