8-10-2024 BLENNERVILLE, IRELAND - NORTHERN LAPWING (Vanellus vanellus)

The northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) is a wading bird common through temperate Eurasia. The name lapwing has been variously attributed to the "lapping" sound the wings of these birds make in flight; from the irregular progress in flight due to their large wings or from their habit of drawing potential predators away from their nest by trailing a wing as if broken.

Population size

5.6-105 Mlnlnn

Life Span

3.5-10 years

Weight

128-330

goz

g oz 

Length

28-33

cminch

cm inch 

Wingspan

67-87

mft

The northern lapwing has rounded wings and a crest. It is also the shortest-legged of the lapwings. It is mainly black and white, but the back is tinted green. The male has a long crest and a black crown, throat, and breast contrasting with an otherwise white face. Females and young birds have shorter crests and less strongly marked heads, but plumages are otherwise quite similar.

Northern lapwings are found throughout temperate Eurasia. They are highly migratory over most of their extensive range, wintering further south as far as North Africa, northern India, Nepal, Bhutan, and parts of China. However, lowland breeders in the westernmost areas of Europe are residents. Northern lapwings inhabit wet grasslands, meadows, swampy heaths, bogs, marshes, other wetlands, and cultivated areas.

Outside of the breeding season, Northern lapwings are very gregarious birds. They feed in mixed flocks with Golden plovers and Black-headed gulls and often migrate in large flocks. In winter, these birds like to form huge flocks on open land, particularly arable land, and mud flats. Northern plovers prefer to feed at night when there is moonlight. They are very vocal birds in the breeding season, constantly calling during the crazed tumbling display flight performed by the male. The typical contact call of these birds is a loud, shrill ‘pee-wit’ from which they get their other name of peewit. Displaying males usually make a wheezy ‘pee-wit, wit wit, eeze wit’ during their display flight; these birds also make squeaking or mewing sounds.