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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.
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; the former ‘sociable plover’ is now the sociable lapwing.
The masked lapwing (also known as the spur-winged plover) has carpal spurs. Nesting pairs defend their territory against all intruders by calling loudly, spreading their wings, and then swooping fast and low, and where necessary, striking at interlopers with their feet and attacking animals on the ground with the conspicuous yellow spurs.
Gray-headed lapwing: Vanellus cinereus (A) Banded lapwing: Vanellus tricolor: Masked lapwing: Vanellus miles: Lesser sand-plover: Charadrius mongolus: Greater sand-plover: Charadrius leschenaultii: Double-banded plover: Charadrius bicinctus (A) Red-capped plover: Charadrius ruficapillus: Kentish plover: Charadrius alexandrinus (A) Common ringed ...
The food of the spur-winged lapwing is insects and other invertebrates, which are picked from the ground. It lays four blotchy yellowish eggs on a ground scrape. The spur-winged lapwing is known to sometimes use the wing-claws in an attack on animals and, rarely, people, who get too close to the birds' exposed offspring.
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Masked lapwing Double-banded plover non-breeding plumage. 21 species recorded [15 extant native, 6 vagrant] 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.
The banded lapwing (Vanellus tricolor) is a small to medium-sized shorebird, found in small parties or large flocks on bare ground in open grasslands, agricultural land and open savannah. [2] It is native to Australia [1] and in the past considered as a game bird for hunting. [3] Population estimate is 25 000 - 1 000 000. [2]