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The traditional terms "plover", "lapwing", and "dotterel" do not correspond exactly to current taxonomic models; thus, several of the Vanellinae are often called plovers, and one a dotterel, while a few of the "true" plovers (subfamily Charadriinae) are known colloquially as lapwings. In general, a lapwing can be thought of as a larger plover.
The northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), also known as the peewit or pewit, tuit or tewit, green plover, or (in Ireland and Great Britain) pyewipe or just lapwing, is a bird in the lapwing subfamily.
The trend in recent years has been to rationalise the common names of the Charadriidae. For example, the large and very common Australian bird traditionally known as the 'spur-winged plover', is now the masked lapwing to avoid conflict with another bird with the same name; and the former 'sociable plover' is now the sociable lapwing.
Spur-winged lapwing in flight with wing spurs clearly visible on the leading edge of the wings. A spur is an outgrowth of bone covered in a sheath of horn found in various anatomical locations in some animals.
The entirely extinct prehistoric species V. downsi is closely related to the southern lapwing found in California; its remains have been found at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. Separated by the Rocky Mountains, V. downsi makes an unlikely ancestor to the southern lapwing, but it is certainly possible that it was a northwestern sister ...
[4] True lapwing eggs are "pear-shaped" with a buff background and black speckles. [10] Another source described them as "olive-brown, spotted and dashed at the larger end with a darker umber color." [13] In the 1920s, "nice little moss-covered baskets with spotted green eggs" were served at fine restaurants and hotels. [14]
The long-toed lapwing (Vanellus crassirostris), also known as the long-toed plover, is a species of wading bird in the lapwing subfamily, within the family Charadriidae.It is mainly sedentary and found across central and eastern Africa, from Chad and South Sudan in the north to Mozambique in the southeast of its range.
The masked lapwing (Vanellus miles) is a large, common and conspicuous bird native to Australia (particularly the northern and eastern parts of the continent), New Zealand and New Guinea. It spends most of its time on the ground searching for food such as insects and worms, and has several distinctive calls.