BIRDS OF ICELAND : Pluvialis apricaria, golden plover

Pluvialis apricaria; if you are walking through heather lands in Iceland during summer you will no doubt hear a bird calling single "peep's" all the time while it continuously seems to follow you. You don't have to look in order to see what bird it is: the alarm call of the golden plover. When breeding it often shows the "broken wing" trick (as do many other bird species as well). It fakes it is injured and easy to catch. Predators may hunt them but what than really happens is that the parent bird lures the predator away from the nest and or chicken. It is however a splendid bird to observe in its breeding plumage: golden top parts, black bottom parts & head and a whitish band in between these parts. All in all the gold and white resembles a royal coat of the finest quality. After breeding they lose their magnificent cloak but a slight golden gloss on the wings prevail, however all black parts change to light grey. The golden plover typically breeds in heather lands both of low- and highlands but can occasionally found also in other habitats. In winter they migrate to western and southern Europe where they can be found on open arable land, meadows and river mouths.