Andean Lapwing
Vanellus resplendens
Large, boldly patterned shorebird of high Andean bogs, wetlands, and lakeshores; also ranges into grassy pastures in the northern part of its range. Usually in pairs or loose flocks, feeding with typical stop-start action of plovers. Little or no range overlap with Southern Lapwing of lowlands and foothills. Note dove-gray head and breast (no crest) and pink bill and legs (duller on immature). In flight shows bold black-and-white pattern on wings and tail. Often noisy, especially when flushed.
Identification
The Andean lapwing is about 33 cm (13 in) long and weighs 193 to 230 g (6.8 to 8.1 oz). The sexes are alike and have no seasonal changes in plumage. Adults have a creamy gray head and neck with a dark brownish gray patch around the eye. Their upperparts are bronzy green with a purple patch on the wing coverts. Their breast is dark gray and their belly white. Their bill is pinkish orange with a black tip, their eye is reddish, and their legs are also reddish. Juveniles have a brownish head and neck, buff mottling on the breast, and pale buff fringes on the upperparts feathers.
Taxonomy
The Andean lapwing was originally described as Charadrius resplendens and has sometimes been placed in genus Ptiloscelys. It is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Vanellus resplendens
- Authority
- (Tschudi, 1843)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Charadriidae
- Genus
- Vanellus
Range and habitat
The Andean lapwing is found in the Andes from southwestern Colombia south through Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia into northern Chile and northwestern Argentina. It inhabits a variety of open landscapes including páramo and puna, shore meadows, and open parts of marshes. It is usually found near lakes or rivers but shuns saline waters. In general it ranges between 2,700 and 4,600 m (8,900 and 15,100 ft) of elevation but is found as high as 5,000 m (16,000 ft) in Chile and as low as 1,500 m (4,900 ft) in the southern parts of its range. It occasionally reaches the coast during the austral winter.
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Behavior
The Andean lapwing is essentially resident in most of its range but moves to lower elevations during the austral winter.<p>Nothing is known about the Andean lapwing's foraging techniques or its diet.<p>The Andean lapwing's breeding season is mostly between October and December though occasionally it may extend to February. One nest was a depression in the ground lined with plant material including lichens. The clutch size is three or four. The incubation period and time to fledging are not known.<p>Like most lapwings, the Andean is noisy. "[U]sually heard are a sharp 'wik' in alarm, a harsh 'criee-criee-cri' call, a staccato 'cwi-cwi-cwi...' or more mellow and melodic 'dididi---celeec-celeec-celeec-ce...'." It also makes "a soft querulous 'cow' note...or a low, tremulous 'kwiwiwiwirrr'."
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Little Stint
Calidris minuta
Tiny shorebird with extensive range across Europe, Africa, and Asia. Very rare vagrant in North America. All ages show dark legs and a straight, fine-tipped bill. Adults in breeding plumage are variably flushed with bright rusty orange on the head, neck sides, and upperparts, usually brightest in mid- to late-summer. Compared with breeding Red-necked Stint, note white throat and more uniformly bright wing coverts and scapulars on Little. Juveniles are typically quite bright and neatly patterned above, often with bold white stripes or "braces" down the back, and have very black-centered wing coverts and tertials. Nonbreeding birds rather plain pale gray and extremely difficult to separate from other small “peeps”. Note bill shape and overall structure. Temminck’s has longer tail and more crouched posture; Red-necked has slightly shorter bill and legs and more attenuated wings. Found in fresh and brackish wetland habitats. Occurs locally in flocks; elsewhere singles travel with flocks of other waders.
Lacrimose Mountain Tanager
Anisognathus lacrymosus
A distinctive mountain-tanager with tawny-orange underparts and isolated yellowish patches on cheek and below eye. Otherwise mostly blackish above with blue highlights on wings and tail. Occurs in the Andes from Venezuela to Peru, where it is fairly common in the upper subtropical and temperate zones. Pairs or small groups often follow mixed-species flocks in forested areas and edges.
Banda Sea Monarch
Symposiachrus mundus
A gray-and-white flycatcher-like songbird confined to the eastern Lesser Sundas. Head slate-gray with well-defined black mask and throat. Underparts bright white and upperparts slate-gray, with dark tail displaying obvious white outer feathers. Juveniles are grayish-brown above and cinnamon below, with white on face, throat, and neck. Singles and pairs frequent mixed-species flocks within understory of forest, forest edge, and mangroves. Lacks orange on breast, unlike Spectacled Monarch. Song is a high-pitched, descending whistled “seeeer.” Also gives a scratchy “k’schrrrr,” “schrrrr,” and rasping “weeee.”
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