“Like the humpback whale, the Pacific Golden-Plover is a harbinger of winter in Hawaii.
Locals look for this winter visitor’s arrival in early fall and watch it leave in breeding plumage by April.
Polynesian sailors are said to have followed it to Hawaii, knowing that it must be heading to land.
From breeding grounds in Alaska and Siberia, thousands navigate to the Hawaiian archipelago using the sun, stars, and the earth’s magnetic field.
They can be found fattening up for the return journey on lawns, golf courses, and meadows, from the coast right up to highland areas such as the crater of Maui’s Haleakala volcano.
In Hawaiian, their name is synonymous with “someone who leaves”.”
American Birding Association’s Field Guide To Birds of Hawaii

Part of the gallery: Birds of Maui