Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Charadriidae
Genus: Pluvialis
Species: P. fulva
Binomial name: Pluvialis fulva
Synonyms: Charadrius fulvus, Pluvialis dominica fulva
Common names: Pacific golden plover. Asiatic golden plover, Eastern golden plover, Least golden plover, Lesser golden plover
Pluvialis fulva is a medium-sized, long-legged plover whose breeding habitat is the Arctic tundra from northernmost Asia into western Alaska where it nests on the ground in dry open areas.
Pluvialis fulva migrates and winters in South Asia, Australasia and Oceania. Up to 1200 birds spend their summer in New Zealand, with a few birds being recorded on New Zealand's subantarctic islands. A few birds will over winter. The birds that visit New Zealand have an annual migration 'round trip' of > 27,000 km.
The bird’s New Zealand habitats are coastal paddocks, estuaries, lagoons, saltmarshes and tidal mudflats in the North, South, Chatham and Kermadec Islands. It eats insects, worms, marine crustaceans and some berries.
Photo of an overwintering bird, not in breeding colours.
This a breading adult not seen in New Zealand. It is spotted gold and black on the crown, and back on the wings. Its face and neck are black with a white border, and it has a black breast and a dark rump. The legs are black. In winter, the black is lost and the plover then has a yellowish face and breast, and white underparts.
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
