GREY-HEADED LAPWING

The 'Grey-headed Lapwing' ''Vanellus cinereus'' is a lapwing species which breeds in northeast China and Japan. The mainland population winters in northern Southeast Asia from northeastern India to Cambodia. The Japanese population winters, at least partially, in southern Honshū.
This species has occurred as a vagrant in Russia, the Philippines, Indonesia and New South Wales, Australia.

Contents

Description

Behaviour

References

Description

Grey-headed Lapwing is 34-37 cm long. It has a grey head and neck, darker grey breast band and white belly. The back is brown, the rump is white and the tail is black. This is a striking species in flight, with black primaries, white under wings and upper wing secondaries, and brown upper wing coverts.
Adults of both sexes are similarly plumaged, but males are slightly larger than females. Young birds have the grey areas of plumage tinged with grey, a less distinct breast band, and pale fringes to the upperpart and wing covert feathers. The call of the Grey-headed Lapwing is a sharp ''chee-it''.

Behaviour

This species nests from April to July in wet grassland, rice fields and marshland edges. It winters in similar habitat and is then gregarious. It feeds in shallow water on insects, worms and molluscs.

References

★ Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

★ 'Hayman, Marchant' and 'Prater', ''Shorebirds'' ISBN 0-873403-19-4

★ ' Robson', Craig ''A Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand'' ISBN-10: 1843309211