88
PLATE 37: LARGE PLOVERS AND JACANA
Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola PM, WV
L: 29. W: 77. Larger than the golden plovers with heavier head and longer, stouter bill. Greyish
appearance lacking obvious yellow or greenish tones on upperparts, except for faint yellow-buff
tinge in juvenile. Black axillaries diagnostic in flight (all ages). Breeding plumage recalls Eurasian
Golden, but more white on head and nape and coarsely speckled black-and-white upperparts;
larger white breast-side patch without white flank-line. White wing-bar and rump obvious in
flight. Voice Flight call a mournful trisyllabic whistle, dee-oo-wee (second note lower-pitched), often
repeated. Habitat Tidal flats and saltings; occasionally inland wetlands. Note Passage hatched,
rare inland, winters all coasts, with some remaining in summer. [Alt: Black-bellied Plover]Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva PM, WV
L: 24. W: 66. Similar to slightly larger Eurasian Golden in all plumages. Best separated by slimmer
build, dark underwing and voice. Compared to European Golden, wings often protrude 1–2cm
beyond tail-tip, bill is finer and longer, legs are clearly longer, particularly thighs, making it appear
more elegant. In flight, toes extend beyond tip of tail and wings appear longer and narrower;
underwing and axillaries are greyish-brown in all plumages (white in European Golden). Adult in
breeding plumage brighter than European Golden, more golden on mantle and scapulars and often
bright white spangling on the wing-coverts; non-breeding and immature have more distinct yellow-
buff supercilium than European Golden. Upperwing as European Golden. Voice Soft disyllabic call
gru-it (resembling Spotted Redshank). Habitat Mudflats, grassland, cultivated fields. Note Passage
and winter hatched.European Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria pm, wv
L: 28. W: 71. Resembles Pacific Golden Plover but separated by heavier, short-necked and pot-
bellied appearance, comparatively shorter legs and bill, white underwing and voice; in flight,
feet do not extend beyond tip of tail. Flight pattern rather uniform with faint wing-bar mainly on
primaries, no white in tail. Non-breeding and immature similar to Pacific Golden Plover, but yellow-
buff supercilium less distinct, with tertials falling well short of wing-tip. Larger Grey Plover has
black axillaries, stronger bill, white rump and grey appearance. Voice Barely disyllabic melancholy
whistle püyh or repeated pyü-pü (often hard to place). Habitat Grassland, ploughed land, stubble,
coast. Note Passage and winter hatched; scarce Oman, UAE; vagrant Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia.
[Alt: Eurasian Golden Plover]American Golden Plover Pluvialis dominica V
L: 26. W: 68. Similar to Pacific Golden Plover in size, structure and dark underwing. Separated from
it in all plumages by slightly shorter legs (though still proportionately longer than European Golden,
and toes project beyond tail-tip in flight) and tertials falling far short of wing-tip and thus showing
long primary projection (extending well beyond tail). In Pacific Golden tertials longer, only slightly
shorter than tail-tip, with short primary projection. In breeding plumage has darker upperparts
(smaller yellow spots), all-black underparts including flanks and vent (whitish flank-line usually
visible on ground and in flight in both European and Pacific Golden). Non-breeding and immature
generally greyer than European and Pacific Golden with darker crown and upperparts, and lacking
yellow/greenish tone on neck and breast; supercilium and forehead rather distinctly whitish
(lacking yellow tone of Pacific); underparts grey-vermiculated (whitish belly in Pacific Golden).
Voice Di- or trisyllabic, similar to Pacific Golden, but softer and more variable kluilip, kuee-eep, or
shorter hyyd. Habitat Grasslands, wetlands, mudflats, sandy beaches. Note Vagrant Oman.Pheasant-tailed Jacana Hydrophasianus chirurgus WV, rb
L: 31 (48cm with full tail). Rail-like and often seen walking on floating vegetation on very long
toes. Breeding adult has long, black, downcurved tail, chocolate-brown body, strikingly patterned
head with white face and foreneck, and golden-yellow hindneck, edged black. White wings with
black tips conspicuous in flight. In non-breeding plumage tail is short, underparts turn white, but
a dark breast-band remains, running up the neck and joining the eye-stripe. Juvenile resembles
non-breeding adult but breast-band flecked white, and head and neck pattern are duller. Low, rapid
flight with dangling legs; landing with raised wings. Habitat Ponds, creeks and marshes with
patches of open water and floating vegetation. Note Rare in hatched area; vagrant Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, Yemen including Socotra.