Kauaʻi record · kba_bird_pacific_golden_plover
Pacific Golden-Plover
Pluvialis fulva
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About Pacific Golden-Plover
Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva) is recorded as a winter visitor on Kauaʻi in the Bishop Museum's 2017 island checklist. This is a documented island occurrence, not a claim of an individual sighting in 2026.
Kauaʻi evidence
Bishop Museum island checklist (version 2, 2017) lists Kauaʻi status W: winter visitor. See original island table. The record includes Kauaʻi-specific or clearly defined regional evidence appropriate to its stated occurrence status.
Occurrence evidence
bishop_island_checklist_2017
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Pluvialis fulva
- Common names
- Pacific Golden-Plover
- Hawaiian names
- Kōlea
- Family
- Charadriidae
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Record type
- Species
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Kauaʻi documented: winter visitor (2017 island checklist)
- Origin
- Indigenous visitor
- Conservation status
- Not assessed
- Evidence date
- 2026-09-13
- Evidence limits
- Island occurrence supported by the 2017 checklist; abundance and current year presence are not established here
Habitat and ecology
- Habitats
- Wetlands · Shorelines
- Food and resource needs
- Terrestrial insects including cockroaches, moths, caterpillars, and earwigs located by sight.
- Reproduction
- Breeding on Kauaʻi is not established; seasonal resting and foraging habitat may be relevant.
- Shelter
- Shelter and structure within wetlands, shorelines.
Threats and conservation
- Threats
- Pesticide/herbicide exposure, aircraft strikes at Lihue and Kahului, hunting history, and open-habitat management
- Conservation actions
- Track winter territories across wetlands, lawns, and airports; reduce pesticide exposure where feasible; and include airport strike risk in local conservation planning
- Monitoring
- Track occurrence, abundance, habitat condition, breeding or seasonal use, and significant threats.
- Data gaps
- Update island status with dated contemporary records · Specific Kauaʻi habitat and abundance need local evidence
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal timing
- Common Winter Visitor August To Spring Departure
- Seasonal description
- Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva) is recorded as a winter visitor on Kauaʻi in the Bishop Museum's 2017 island checklist. This is a documented island occurrence, not a claim of an individual sighting in 2026.
Sources and further reading
- https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/wildlife/birds/kolea/
- https://www.fws.gov/refuge/hanalei/species
- https://hawaiibirdingtrails.hawaii.gov/bird/pacific-golden-plover/
- https://hawaiibirdingtrails.hawaii.gov/birding_hotspot/kawai%CA%BBele-state-waterbird-sanctuary/
- https://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/birds/rlp-monograph/SEHIlist.htm