- Vanellus vanellus
Identification
Length 28-31cm. Wing span 67-72 cm
- Crest
- Black bill
- Pinkish-brown legs
- Upperparts look black but has green and purplish tints
- White underparts
- Black throat and breast
- Orange-chestnut undertail coverts
Female and Juvenile are similar but have shorter crests
Distribution
Breeds in Palearctic (British Isles, France, Scandinavia and Russia east to the Urals); winters to northern Africa, India, Myanmar and south China.
Common and widespread over much of the region. Breeds on Sandoy in the Faroes and in most of the British Isles, and from France east to the Urals. In the north found over all of Scandinavia (except the far north) and in Russia north to the White Sea. In the south breeds in central and south-central Spain, patchily in southern France, north Italy, Greece and central Turkey.
Resident in western Europe and in Turkey but summer visitor to remainder of breeding range. In winter found throughout France and Iberia, and on most Mediterranean coasts, in Turkey, Iraq and the Nile Valley.
Has been recorded on the Azores and Cape Verde Islands as a vagrant.
Taxonomy
A monotypic species[1]
Habitat
Breeds in open country, moors and farmland with short grass, bare soil or in crops, often near freshwater. Winters in muddy estuaries and marshes.
Behaviour
Highly gregarious forming large winter feeding flocks.
Flight
Slow direct flight with very 'flapping' wings. Aerobatic spring display flights.
Breeding
Three to four eggs are laid in a ground scrape.
Very protective of their nests, dive-bombing intruders.
Diet
Diet includes insects and other small invertebrates. It prefers to feed nocturnally when there are moonlit nights.
Vocalisation
Call: Variations on Pee, Peet and Pee-wit
<flashmp3>Vanellus vanellus (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
In Culture
The name "lapwing" derives from the "lapping" sound its wings make, or the flapping flight.
Other common names include Peewit and Green Plover
References
- Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Collins Pocket Guide to British Birds 1966
- Collins Field Guide 5th Edition
- Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728 6
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Northern Lapwing. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Northern_Lapwing
External Links
