Black-winged Lapwing

Black-winged Lapwing
Black-winged Lapwing
Black-winged Lapwing in Debre Berhan, Ethiopia
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Charadriidae
Subfamily: Vanellinae
Genus: Vanellus
Species: V. melanopterus
Binomial name
Vanellus melanopterus
(Cretzschmar, 1829)
Synonyms

Charadrius melanopterus Cretzschmar, 1829
Hoplopterus melanopterus (Cretzschmar, 1829)
Stephanibyx melanopterus (Cretzschmar, 1829)

The Black-winged Lapwing (or Greater Black-winged Lapwing) is an east African species that is found from the Ethiopian highlands in the north to central Kenya (race V. m. melanopterus), and again at middle to coastal elevations in eastern South Africa (race V. m. minor). It is a habitat specialist of short grass in well-watered temperate grasslands. They may move about locally to find ideal situations, often at night. In their tightly grouped flying flocks they resemble Plovers.

Contents

Description

A black breast band separates the Lapwing's grey head and neck from the white underside. The wing coverts are brown. It has a variable but prominent white forehead patch similar to its near relative, the Senegal Lapwing, but in contrast shows a prominent white wingbar in flight, bordered by black remiges. The two species are also separated by their respective habitat preferences, the Senegal Lapwing preferring lower, mostly drier locations.

Habits and breeding

The Black-winged Lapwing behaves somewhat like the similar-sized but more generally occurring Crowned Lapwing and the two species sometimes occur in mixed flocks.

The leg colour brightens during the spring breeding season, when the birds sometimes move to higher elevations. Males show mutual aggression at this time and establish territories by calling and display flights which may include exaggerated wing beats. A receptive female will follow the male in flight and copulation may follow soon after. The top of a slope in burnt grassland is a favourite location for nesting.

The eggs are fairly large and dark in colour. Incubation starts when the clutch of usually 3 is complete. The adults relay one another in shifts of about 90 minutes. Insulating nest lining is added periodically to the well-lined nest until the eggs are half buried. The young hatch in just under a month and require about another month to become self-sufficient.

Food and territories

Black-winged Lapwings hunt termites on the ground, which constitutes a large part of their diet. They also take tenebrionid beetles and ants, and in captivity prefer earthworms and mealworms. Feeding territories of smaller than one hectare are defended by small groups of these birds. Newly found territories are most aggressively defended through vocal and visual threat displays or aerial mobbing. Large groups however form non-territorial flocks when ample habitat is found.

Conservation status

Human activities impact both positively and negatively on this species; it is not endangered. The Black-winged Lapwing is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2009). Vanellus melanopterus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 16 Feb 2009. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
  2. Hockey P.A.R., Douie C. 1995. Waders of southern Africa
  3. Marchant J., Prater T., Hayman P. 1986. Shorebirds: An identification guide
  4. Sinclair I., Ryan P. 2003. Birds of Africa south of the Sahara
  5. Tarboton W. 2001. Nests & Eggs of Southern African Birds
  6. Ward, D. Black-winged Plover. In: The atlas of southern African birds. Vol. 1: Non-passerines

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • greater black-winged lapwing — juodasparnė pempė statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Titihoia melanoptera; Vanellus melanopterus angl. greater black winged lapwing vok. Schswarzflügelkiebitz, m rus. чернокрылая пигалица, f pranc. vanneau à ailes noires, m… …   Paukščių pavadinimų žodynas

  • lesser black-winged lapwing — juosvagalvė pempė statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Titihoia lugubris; Vanellus lugubris angl. lesser black winged lapwing vok. Trauerkiebitz, m rus. траурный чибис, m pranc. vanneau terne, m ryšiai: platesnis terminas –… …   Paukščių pavadinimų žodynas

  • Black-winged — may refer to:* Black winged Cuckoo shrike, species of cuckooshrike found in south and south east Asia * Black winged Kite, small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae * Black winged Lapwing, east African species that is found in Ethiopia, Kenya …   Wikipedia

  • Spur-winged Lapwing — For other species called Spur winged Lapwing or Spur winged Plover , see below. Spur winged Lapwing Spur winged Lapwing, Parc Forestier de Hann, Senegal Conservation status …   Wikipedia

  • Lapwing — Taxobox name = Lapwings image width = 240px image caption = Blacksmith Lapwing ( Vanellus armatus ) regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves subclassis = Neornithes infraclassis = Neognathae superordo = Neoaves ordo = Charadriiformes… …   Wikipedia

  • Senegal Lapwing — The African Wattled Lapwing (Vanellus senegallus) is sometimes called Senegal Wattled Plover. Senegal Lapwing Conservation status …   Wikipedia

  • River Lapwing — at Jayanti in Buxa Tiger Reserve in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, India …   Wikipedia

  • Crowned Lapwing — In Mikumi National Park Conservation status …   Wikipedia

  • Masked Lapwing — Vanellus miles novaehollandiae Conservation status …   Wikipedia

  • masked lapwing — /maskt ˈlæpwɪŋ/ (say mahskt lapwing) noun a medium sized, brown winged, black crowned plover, Vanellus miles, with prominent yellow facial wattles and wing spurs, frequenting mudflats, well watered paddocks and urban parks throughout the eastern… …  

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”