American golden plover
| American golden plover | |
|---|---|
| Adult summer plumage, Churchill, Manitoba | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Charadriidae |
| Genus: | Pluvialis |
| Species: | P. dominica |
| Binomial name | |
| Pluvialis dominica (Müller, PLS, 1776) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Pluvialis dominica dominica | |
The American golden plover (Pluvialis dominica) is a medium-sized plover. The genus name is Latin and means relating to rain, from pluvia, "rain". It was believed that golden plovers flocked when rain was imminent. The species name dominica refers to Santo Domingo, now Hispaniola, in the West Indies.