- Vanellus indicus
Identification
32–35 cm (12½-13¾ in)
- Light brown wings and back
- Black head and chest and front part of neck
- White patch runs between belly and tail, flanking the neck to the sides of crown
- Short tail is tipped black
- A red fleshy wattle in front of each eye
- Black-tipped red bill
- Long yellow legs
- In flight, prominent white V-shaped wing bar
Distribution
From south-eastern Turkey to Iraq, south-western Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal and east to Burma, Thailand, Indochina and Malaysia.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Four subspecies are recognized:[1]
- V.i. aigneri:
- V.i. indicus:
- East Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bangladesh
- V.i. lankae:
- V.i. atronuchalis:
Habitat
Open country and forest clearings, freshwater wetlands. Dry fields, bush country, near swamps, rivers and coasts.
Behaviour
Breeding
Its nest is a ground scrape; the clutch consisting of 3-4 buff eggs with black blotches.
Diet
Their diet consists mostly of insects and larvae such as ants, beetles, caterpillars, insects, snails and other invertebrates, as well as some vegetation.
Vocalisation
A very noisy bird.
Call: What ya doin. When excited: What are you doin and when they get really stressed it sounds more like What ya think ya doin.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved August 2016)
- Wikipedia
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Red-wattled Lapwing. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 7 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Red-wattled_Lapwing
External Links
