European golden ploverGoldregenpfeifer Pluvialis apricaria
Family: Plovers and lapwings
A plump, medium-sized plover with a spangled golden-brown back; in breeding plumage the face and belly are black, in winter plain buff. Golden plovers breed on upland moors and tundra and pass through Germany in large flocks, standing upright and evenly spaced on ploughed fields and coastal pastures. A tiny breeding population in the Lower Saxony bogs has almost died out.