Blacksmith Lapwing

Alternative name: Blacksmith Plover

Adult showing the 'spurs'
Photo by Alan Manson
Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens, Johannesburg, South Africa, April 2007

Vanellus armatus

Identification

30cm

• White belly, nape patch, underwings, rump
• Tail black and white
• Rest of plumage black
• Carpal wing spurs (sometimes hidden in feathers)
• Red eyes
• Very long legs
  

Sexes similar

Distribution

Juvenile
Photo by Max Holdt
Windhoek, Namibia, April 2007

Africa, south of the Sahara:
Western Africa: Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Swaziland

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].

Habitat

Pairs and scattered individuals frequent the shores of a wide variety inland waters and in marshy ground, flooded fields and other moist places.

Behaviour

Photo by GiGi
Near to Cape Town, South Africa, Summer 2006

Diet

The diet includes insects, worms, snails, seeds, molluscs and crustaceans.

Breeding

The nest is a ground scrape, formed by both adults. The clutch consists of 4 eggs; incubation starts once the last egg is laid and lasts for 23-31 days. Both parents incubate the eggs.

Vocalisation

Call: Clink, clink (sounding like a blacksmith hammering metal).

References

1. Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
2. Avibase
3. Honoluluzoo
4. BF Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Blacksmith Lapwing. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Blacksmith_Lapwing

External Links

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