River Lapwing
Vanellus duvaucelii
The black, gray, and brown coloration of this medium-sized shorebird makes it unmistakable. Raises black crest when displaying. As the name suggests, this species is primarily tied to rivers, where it is often seen foraging in pairs on riverbanks or exposed islands. Calls shrilly and loudly, both during display and when alarmed.
Identification
The river lapwing is 29–32 cm long. It has a black crest, crown, face and central throat and grey-white neck sides and nape. It has a grey-brown breast band and white underparts with a black belly patch. The back is brown, the rump is white and the tail is black. This is a striking species in flight, with black primaries, white under wings and upper wing secondaries, and brown upper wing coverts.<p>Adults of both sexes are similarly plumaged, but males are slightly larger than females. Young birds have the brown tips to the black head feathers, a sandier brown back, and pale fringes to the upperpart and wing covert feathers. The call of the river lapwing is a sharp tip-tip or did-did-did.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Vanellus duvaucelii
- Authority
- (Lesson, RP, 1826)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Charadriidae
- Genus
- Vanellus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The breeding display, given on the ground, includes stooping, spinning, stretching and crest-raising.<p>The river lapwing nests on shingle and sand banks from March to June. It lays two eggs on a ground scrape. It feeds on insects, worms, crustaceans and molluscs in nearby wet grassland and farmland. It is not gregarious.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Southern Red Bishop
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A small, dumpy sparrow-like weaver. The breeding male is a mix of velvety vermilion and black; the narrow black forecrown is diagnostic. The female and non-breeding male are nondescript, with a short tail and strong buff eyebrow, and are difficult to tell apart from other bishops. Pairs and small flocks are always close to water when breeding, and mixed-species colonies occur in reedbeds and swampy grassland, but they disperse into adjacent scrub in the non-breeding season, often in flocks. The song is an extended fizzling sizzle. Breeding males of other red bishop species either have no black forehead, or have a much more extensive black crown.
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