Pacific Golden-Plover

Pluvialis fulva

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered

KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
PhylumChordata (Chordates)
ClassAves (Birds)
OrderCharadriiformes (Shorebirds and Allies)
FamilyCharadriidae (Plovers and Lapwings)
GenusPluvialis (Golden Plovers and Grey Plover)
SpeciesPluvialis fulva (Pacific Golden-Plover)

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

at Sepilok

1 Verified sightings at Sepilok From 2019 to 2026

1,072 Verified sightings across all 38 parks From 2019 to 2026

☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Pacific Golden-Plover

The Pacific golden plover (Pluvialis fulva) is a migratory shorebird that breeds during summer in Alaska and Siberia. During nonbreeding season, this medium-sized plover migrates widely across the Pacific. The Pacific golden plover was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the other plovers in the genus Charadrius and coined the binomial name Charadrius fulvus. Gmelin based his description on the "Fulvous plover" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham from specimens from Tahiti. The Pacific golden plover is now placed in the genus Pluvialis that was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The genus name is Latin and means relating to rain, from pluvia, 'rain'. It was believed that the plovers flocked when rain was imminent. The specific epithet is also from Latin and means 'tawny' or 'yellowish-brown'. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.

Adults are about 25 cm (9.8 in) long with a wingspan averaging 61 cm (24 in) At their lightest, fat free,... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Sepilok

Actitis hypoleucos

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Tringa glareola

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Tringa nebularia

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Chlidonias hybrida

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Thalasseus bergii

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

#	Park	Country	Daily sighting probability
1	Wilpattu National Park	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	~30%
2	Yala National Park	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	~20%
3	Raja Ampat	🇮🇩 Indonesia	~10%
4	Sundarbans National Park	🇮🇳 India	~10%
5	Katmai National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
6	Daintree National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	<5%
7	Kaziranga National Park	🇮🇳 India	<5%
8	Wrangell-St. Elias National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
9	El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
10	Camargue	🇫🇷 France	<5%
11	Channel Islands National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
12	Chitwan National Park	🇳🇵 Nepal	<5%
13	Redwood National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
14	Great Bear Rainforest	🇨🇦 Canada	<5%
15	Pacific Rim National Park Reserve	🇨🇦 Canada	<5%
16	Olympic National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
17	Kinabalu Park	🇲🇾 Malaysia	Insufficient data
18	iSimangaliso Wetland Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	Insufficient data
19	Great Otway National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	Insufficient data
20	Royal National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	Insufficient data
21	Ningaloo Marine Park	🇦🇺 Australia	Insufficient data
22	Bali Barat National Park	🇮🇩 Indonesia	Insufficient data
23	Hortobágy National Park	🇭🇺 Hungary	Insufficient data
24	Maria Island National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	Insufficient data
25	Khao Sok National Park	🇹🇭 Thailand	Insufficient data
26	Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park	🇲🇳 Mongolia	Insufficient data
27	Wilsons Promontory National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	Insufficient data
28	Kerinci Seblat National Park	🇮🇩 Indonesia	Insufficient data
29	Nikko National Park	🇯🇵 Japan	Insufficient data
30	Fiordland National Park	🇳🇿 New Zealand	Insufficient data
31	Manas National Park	🇮🇳 India	Insufficient data
32	Kakadu National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	Insufficient data
33	Taroko National Park	🇹🇼 Taiwan	Insufficient data
34	Fertő-Hanság National Park	🇭🇺 Hungary	Insufficient data
35	Keoladeo National Park	🇮🇳 India	Insufficient data
36	Sepilok	🇲🇾 Malaysia	Insufficient data
37	Wadden Sea National Park	🇩🇪 Germany	Insufficient data
38	Galápagos Islands	🇪🇨 Ecuador	Insufficient data

← Back to Sepilok

Pacific Golden-Plover

About the Pacific Golden-Plover

Closest Relatives at Sepilok

Common Sandpiper

Wood Sandpiper

Common Greenshank

Whiskered Tern

Crested Tern

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found