The Avifauna of Micronesia, Its Origin, Evolution, and Distribution

by Rollin H. Baker

Pluvialis dominica fulva (Gmelin)

Pacific Golden Plover

Charadrius fulvus Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 687. (Type locality, Tahiti.)

Charadrius pluvialis Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké., Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp. 287, 299, 304 (Ualan, Longounor, Guahan); idem, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 2, 1858, pp. 32, 55 (Ualan).

Charadrius virginianus Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 167 (Mariannen, Carolinen).

Charadrius longipes? Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 47 (Ladrone or Marian Islands, Oualan).

Pluvialis fulvus Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, 6, no. 29, 1865, p. 52 (Micronesie).

Charadrius fulvus Finsch and Hartlaub, Fauna Central-polynesiens, 1867, p. 196 (Marianen, Ualan); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, pp. 8, 117, 118 (Pelews); Finsch and Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1870, p. 139 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. f. Ornith., 1872, p. 52 (Pelew, Carolinen); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 89, 104 (Pelew, Mackenzie, Uap); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, p. 123 (Yap); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 31 (Palau); idem, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. 18, 38 (Ponapé); idem., Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 781 (Ponapé); idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 576 (Ruk); idem, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. 293, 305 (Ponapé, Kuschai); idem, Ibis, 1880, pp. 220, 331, 332 (Taluit); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 281, 353 (Ponapé, Ruk); Finsch, Ibis, 1881, pp. 105, 106, 109, 113, 115 (Kushai, Ponapé); Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 395 (Carolines, Pelews, Marianas); Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 55 (Jaluit, Milli, Kuschai); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 63 (Marshall Islands, Ualan, Luganor, Ponapé, Ruk, Uap, Pelew, Marianne); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 46 (Guam, Hogoleu, Marshalls, Palaos); Hartert, Novit. Zool. 5, 1898, p. 66 (Guam); idem, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 9 (Ruk); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 36 (Micronesia); Schnee, Ornith. Monatsber., 1901, p. 132 (Marshalls); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 68 (Marianas); idem, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 266 (Guam); Schnee, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 389 (Marschall-Inseln); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 51 (Ponapé).

Charadrius dominicus fulvus Safford, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 80 (Guam); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 22 (Guam).

Charadrius dominicus Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 24, 1896, p. 195 (Micronesia).

Pluvialis dominicus fulvus Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, 1919, p. 89 (Kuschai, Pelew, Ruk, Marianas, Mackenzie, Ponapé); Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 177 (Uala, Arhno, Rongelab); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 44 (Guam, Angaur, Ualan, Luganor, Ponapé, Ruk, Yap, Arhno); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 216 (Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Babelthuap, Koror, Peliliu, Angaur, Yap, Ulithi, Truk, Lukunor, Ponapé, Kusaie, Mille, Arhno, Majuro, Likieb).

Pluvialis apricarius fulvus Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 193 (Saipan, Tinian, Babelthuap, Koror, Pelilieu, Angaur, Yap, Uluthi, Truk, Lukunor, Ponapé, Kusaie, Mille, Arhno, Majuro, Likieb).

Pluvialis dominica fulva Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, 1934, p. 244 (Oceania); Bryan, Guam, Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 (Guam); Stickney, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1248, 1943, p. 3 (Saipan, Guam, Palau, Ponapé, Kusaie, Ruk, Tarawa); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 39 (Oceania); Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 49, 1946, p. 93 (Tinian); Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 536 (Guam); Borror, Auk, 1947, p. 417 (Agrihan); Stott, Auk, 1947, p. 525 (Saipan); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 50 (Guam, Rota, Peleliu, Garakayo, Ulithi, Truk).

Pluvialis dominica Wharton and Hardcastle, Journ. Parasitology, 32, 1946, pp. 306, 310, 313, 316, 318 (Ulithi, Guam); Wharton, Ecol. Monogr., 16, 1946, pp. 174, 175 (Guam).

Geographic range.—Breeds from Siberia to western Alaska. Winters from India east to Oceania; stragglers occur west to Africa and east to Pacific coast of North America. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands—Guam, Rota, Tinian, Saipan, Agrihan, Asuncion; Palau Islands—Angaur, Peleliu, Ngabad, Garakayo, Koror, Babelthaup; Caroline Islands—Yap, Ulithi, Truk, Lukunor, Ponapé, Kusaie; Marshall Islands—Mille, Arhno, Rongelab, Majuro, Likieb, Bikini.

Specimens examined.—Total number, 69 (39 males, 26 females, 4 unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM—Guam, 17 (July 8, 19, 24, Aug. 31, Sept. 4, 17, 19, 26, Oct. 5, 8, 23, 24)—Rota, 5 (Oct. 20, 25); AMNH—Guam, 6 (Mar. 7, 8, 27, Aug. 15)—Saipan, 1 (Sept. 8)—Asuncion, 2 (Feb. 16); Palau Islands, USNM—Peleliu, 9 (Sept. 6-20)—Garakayo, 1 (Sept. 20); AMNH—exact locality not given, 7 (Oct. 13, Nov. 13, 15); Caroline Islands, USNM—Ulithi, 4 (Aug. 16, 21); AMNH—Kusaie, 9 (Mar. 10-30)—Ponapé, 2 (Dec. 15)—Truk, 3 (Feb. 6); Marshall Islands, USNM—Bikini, 3 (Mar. 4, 7, May 3).

Parasites.—Wharton (1946:174, 175) records the following chiggers (Acarina) from Pluvialis taken by the NAMRU2 party at Guam: Acariscus pluvius, A. anous, Neoschöngastia carveri, and N. namrui; and at Ulithi: N. pauensis and N. ewingi.

Weights.—Birds taken at Guam and Rota weighed as follows: seven males, 107-125 (117); four females, 109-120 (114).

Remarks.—The Pacific Golden Plover is one of the most abundant migratory shore birds to visit Micronesia. So characteristic of Micronesia is this species that almost all ornithologists who have made observations in the area have recorded it. Finsch observed the plover in the Carolines and Marshalls. Coultas made notes on, and collected specimens of, it in the Marianas, Carolines, and Palaus. The Hand-list of Japanese Birds (Hachisuka et al., 1942:216) lists Pluvialis from 17 islands in Micronesia.

Stickney (1943:3, 4) discusses the migrations of the Pacific Golden Plover through Oceania, using as a basis for her remarks the data from the extensive collections made by the Whitney South Sea Expedition. She states that the northward migration begins in March from the southern islands (New Zealand and southern Australia). At Guam in 1945, the writer observed flocks of plover beginning on February 11. Birds were seen in small groups in March and April. In the latter month most of the birds seen were in nuptial plumage. For the year 1945, the latest spring record at Guam was April 28. In the same year, Gleise (1945:220) observed his last spring record at Tinian "between April 26 and 27." In 1946, Morrison obtained plover in nuptial plumage at Bikini on May 3.

In an effort to obtain dates when shore birds appeared at Guam, field parties of NAMRU2 made observations at several beaches in late spring, summer, and early fall, as is shown in [table 8]. Pacific Golden Plovers in post-nuptial molt were first observed and collected on July 8. Following this date, small flocks and later large flocks were more numerous; by September 29, plover were abundant. Similar findings were obtained at Ulithi (see [table 9]) and in the Palau Islands (see [table 10]) in August and September. The birds collected by the NAMRU2 party at Guam, Ulithi, Peleliu, and Garakayo in July, August, September, and early October were in postnuptial molt. Birds taken at Rota on October 20 and 26 were in winter plumage. Downs (1946:93) observed plover in small flocks at Tinian in 1945, beginning after September 5. Borror (1947:417) saw two birds at Agrihan on August 10, 1945.

The flocks of plover seen by the NAMRU2 party varied in size from three to 30 birds, the average being less than ten. Coultas (field notes) noted "large flocks" at the Palaus from October to December, 1931. Although plover was often found on the same beach as other birds, the NAMRU2 observers rarely saw plover together with other shore birds. However, on air strips Pluvialis occasionally occurred with small numbers of Arenaria, Heteroscelus spp., and Numenius phaeopus. Pluvialis and N. phaeopus were the only shore birds found to use open grassy flats and other inland areas at Guam and Peleliu in 1945.

Stickney (1943) records Pluvialis in late spring and summer from Polynesia, indicating these to be birds remaining in the winter range during the breeding season. The NAMRU2 party observed no Pacific Golden Plovers at Guam which might be regarded as non-migrants, but other species of shore birds were found which might be considered as such. The lingering of individuals in the winter range is not unusual among migratory birds, and as Stickney points out, most of the non-migrants retain their winter dress or assume an incomplete breeding plumage.