Birds Posters
Lapwing
In Europe, "lapwing" often refers specifically to the Northern Lapwing, the only member of this group to occur in most of the continent.
The Vanellinae are collectively called lapwings but also contain the ancient Red-kneed Dotterel.
A lapwing can be thought of as a larger plover.
The traditional terms plover, lapwing and dotterel were coined long before modern understandings of the relationships
between different groups of birds emerged: in consequence, several of the Vanellinae are still often called "plovers", and the reverse also applies, to the "true" plovers and dotterels.
Many records in North America happen after storms. A storm in December 1927 and another in January 1966 account for an appreciable part of Canadian records.
The Northern Lapwing is also known as the Peewit, Green Plover or (in the British Isles) just Lapwing.
This lapwing is a 28 to 31 cm long bird with a 67 to 72 cm wingspan, It has rounded wings and a crest. It is the shortest-legged of the lapwings.
It is mainly black and white, but the back is tinted green. Females and young birds have narrower wings, and have less strongly-marked heads, but plumages are otherwise quite similar.
The name lapwing has been variously attributed to the "lapping" sound its wings make in flight, from the irregular progress in flight due to its large
wings (OED derives this from an Old English word meaning "to totter"), or from its habit of drawing potential predators away from its nest by trailing a wing as if broken.
Peewit describes the bird's shrill call. This is a vocal bird in the breeding season, with constant calling as the crazed tumbling display flight is performed by the male.
For spring breeding grounds, these shorebirds prefer flat, open areas on sandy or mossy terrain.
They are found on sandy and gravel shorelines, grassy borders of rivers and ponds, wet meadows on fallow croplands, high rocky beaches, as well as sand dunes.
Semipalmated plover adults have dark-brown upperparts and white underparts in both breeding and nonbreeding plumage.
While in breeding plumage males feature a black breastband, a black "mask" over the eyes and across the forecrown, and a small white patch just above the bill.
The Southern Lapwing (Vanellus chilensis) is a wader in the family Charadriiformes.
It is a common and widespread resident throughout South America, except in densely forested regions (e.g. most of the Amazon),
the higher parts of the Andes and the arid coast of a large part of western South America.
This bird is particularly common in the basin of the River Plate.
This lapwing is the only crested wader in South America. It is 32 to 38 centimetres (13 to 15 in) in length and weighs approximately 425 grams (15.0 oz).
The upperparts are mainly brownish grey, with a bronze glossing on the shoulders.
The head is particularly striking; mainly grey with a black forehead and throat patch extending onto the black breast.
A white border separates the black of the face from the grey of the head and crest.
The rest of the underparts are white, and the eye ring, legs and most of the bill are pink.
The Crowned Lapwing (Vanellus coronatus), also known as the Crowned Plover, is a bird of the lapwing subfamily that occurs
contiguously from the Red Sea coast of Somalia to southern and southwestern Africa.
Their diet consists of a variety of insects, but termites form an important component.