In late April, American golden plovers engage in what is known as "torpedo runs." This occurs within the first few days of reaching their breeding territory. Males will chase a female while exhibiting a series of winglifts accompanied by trill sounds. The male will separate a female from other members of the group, and will fight off any males who come near. "Torpedo runs" are used both for courtship and as a aggressive maneuver. There is no identifiable difference between chases used in courtship and those used in an aggressive manner.
All male plovers also perform flight songs when first arriving at breeding grounds. These flight songs are used to attract a mate. There are few characterstics that distinguish the flight songs of American golden plovers from those of Pacific golden plovers (P. fulva). However, Pacific golden plovers descend smoothly and softly while American golden plovers decend steeply and quickly. Their song can be recognized because it has four, short tones, and is thought to sound like "clicking." The song is performed quickly and repetitively. Other tundra plovers have less tones in their songs and perform longer, both in tonation and in invervals between tones. All tundra plover species' flights have a common main component called "butterfly flight" in which the male will move his wings in "slow, jerky, and stiff wingbeats."
American golden plovers are monogamous, mating with only one other individual.
Mating System: monogamous
Breeding begins shortly after arriving on breeding territory and eggs are laid a few weeks later. American golden plovers build nests on the Arctic coast in tundra areas. Nests built in areas with lichen are less likely to be destroyed by predators. Nests are built on uniform surroundings that help camouflage the nest. Nests are the smallest built by any tundra plover species. A female lays 1 to 4 eggs (the average is 4) in June. Each egg is large and weighs almost 20% of the female's body weight. The eggs are creme or white in colored with brown and black spots. The eggs hatch 22 to 30 days after being layed. Fledging occurs approximately 22 days after the egg hatches and they become independent soon after. American golden plover hatchlings are sexually mature when they return to breeding grounds the next year.
Each pair will only mate once per season, unless their eggs are lost due to predation or other reasons early in the breeding season. If eggs are lost later in the season, the pair will not breed again. Studies have shown that chicks that hatch early in the season have a better chance of survival (because they have more time to grow and develop before the migration to Rio de la Plata).
Breeding interval: American golden plovers breed once per year.
Breeding season: Breeding occurs in the month of June.
Range eggs per season: 1 to 4.
Average eggs per season: 4.
Range time to hatching: 22 to 30 days.
Average time to hatching: 25-28 days.
Average fledging age: 22 days.
Average time to independence: 22 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 1 years.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 1 years.
Key Reproductive Features: seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
Average eggs per season: 4.
Male and female American golden plovers spend equal amounts of time incubating their eggs and caring for their young. Each parent will spend 12 straight hours incubating the eggs, males during the day and females at night. Little information is available about parental care after hatching, but it appears to be the same as other tundra plovers. After hatching, males tend to spend more time caring for young than females, 48% of males make nest visits when they are "off-duty." Both parents forage in their breeding territory, however males spend more time on breeding territory (at least partially because of the off-duty nest visits). In other tundra plovers, the male continues to spend more time caring for young, and the female may leave before the chicks have left the nest. In cases where females do not leave before the chicks are mature enough be on on their own, both parents provide equally for the chicks until they reach independence. Both males and females protect and care for their eggs, and they decrease the amount of protection they provide for their precocial young once the eggs hatch.
Parental Investment: precocial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female)