golden plover
- noun
- /ˈɡoʊldən ˈploʊvər/
:
chorlito dorado
- PHOTO: The American golden plover winters on South American grasslands.
- the American golden plover
Examples
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Yeah, a lot of people wouldn't think twice to look at this bird, but this golden plover's one of the greatest travelers in the world.
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The curlews and the American golden plovers that probably accompanied them liked low-grass plains, such as those of the llanos and savannas from interior Colombia eastward.
Academic text (1992) -
American golden plover.
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Yeah, golden plover.
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Her father had taught her some of their names: eiders, dunlins, longspurs, phalaropes, golden plovers.
Fiction book (2000) -
Late in the day, I ventured over to Sunset Beach, where at least 15 kestrels and five Merlins were hunting over the old Magnasite Plant, and my own day ended with two American Golden Plovers heading south down the bayshore against a setting sun. Oh alright, it really ended with a few beers in town actually!
Blog text (21) -
Today the curlews are almost gone, but their general route—across the Atlantic and Amazon to Argentina and back through central North America—is traced by American golden plovers.
Academic text (1992) -
The golden plover is known for its striking golden-yellow spots on its back.
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During migration, the golden plover can travel thousands of miles between breeding and wintering grounds.
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Birdwatchers in the area reported seeing a golden plover resting in the grassy fields near the shore.
Synonyms
6
8.1
A small to medium bird with a short straight beak that walks in shallow water on shores
A group of medium-sized coastal birds including golden plovers
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase is compositionally transparent: 'golden' (a color adjective) modifies 'plover' (a type of wading bird), so the meaning 'a plover with golden-yellow plumage' is directly inferable from the constituents. This adjective + noun pattern is cross-linguistically common and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
The name golden plover comes from how the bird looks: its back has bright golden spots that can look like someone sprinkled gold on its feathers. The word plover is a type of 'wading bird', so the name simply means a 'wading bird' with golden spots, which makes it easy to remember.