JUKEMA J & PIERSMA T (1992) Golden Plovers Pluvialis apricaria do not show sexual dimorphy in external and internal linear dimensions. LIMOSA 65 (4): 147-154.

A sample of 82 Greater Golden Plovers accidentally killed during large-scale netting operations in the northern Netherlands in the winter seasons 1988-1991, was examined for sexual dimorphy in their external and internal dimensions (wing, bill, total head, tarsus + toe length and six skeletal measurements). We found no size differences between adult and first-winter birds, nor between males and females in the pooled samples. Apparently, Golden Plovers are trueiy sexually monomorphic in size. This contrasts with earlier findings for Grey Plovers Pluvialis squatarola on the breeding grounds, and for many other wader species, especially in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae (Appendix 1). External dimensions being unsuitable to indicate sex in the Golden Plover, we examined the potential use of wing length and tarsus +toe length as structural size variables. A regression analysis of data from 1093 Golden Plovers captured during the period of their early spring low mass (no large nutrient reserves), suggests that tarsus + toe length is the better estimator of structural size.

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