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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.
These were rather vague terms which were not applied with any great consistency in the past. In general, larger species have often been called lapwings, smaller species plovers or dotterels and there are in fact two clear taxonomic sub-groups: most lapwings belong to the subfamily Vanellinae, most plovers and dotterels to Charadriinae.
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.
In general they are shy and secretive birds, making them difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs and long toes which are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and to be weak fliers. The Guam rail was formerly extinct in the wild but has been reintroduced to Rota and Cocos Island near Guam. [4]
There are 25 extant species of lapwings. [5] Africa has the most species of lapwings, while North America has none. [5] Australia has two native species, the masked lapwing and the banded lapwing. [6] The masked lapwing is split into Vanellus miles miles and Vanellus miles novaehollandiae. [7]
These lapwings breed in the dry season with peak breeding in March to May ahead of the monsoons. [15] The nest territory has been estimated, based on the distance to nearest neighbours, to be about 2.7 acres. [16] They lay four eggs in a ground scrape. [17] A nest in a clump of grass has been noted as exceptional. [18]
The family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short thick necks, and long, usually pointed, wings. They are found in open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water. Northern lapwing, Vanellus vanellus (C) NT; Masked lapwing, Vanellus miles (American Samoa ...
The yellow wattlebird is Australia's largest honeyeater and an endemic Tasmanian species. A total of 383 species of bird have been recorded living in the wild on the island of Tasmania, nearby islands and islands in Bass Strait. Birds of Macquarie Island are not included in this list. Twelve species are endemic to the island of Tasmania, and most of these are common and widespread. However ...