African Wattled Lapwing
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The African wattled lapwing (''Vanellus senegallus''), also known as the Senegal wattled plover or simply wattled lapwing, is a large
lapwing Lapwings (subfamily Vanellinae) are any of various ground-nesting birds (Family (biology), family Charadriidae) akin to plovers and dotterels. They range from in length, and are noted for their slow, irregular wingbeats in flight and a shrill, ...
, a group of largish
wader 245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...
s in the family
Charadriidae The bird family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings. The family contains 69 species that are divided into 10 genera. Taxonomy The family Charadriidae was introduced (as Charadriadæ) by the English zoologist William El ...
. It is a resident breeder in most of
sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...
outside the rainforests, although it has seasonal movements. These are conspicuous and unmistakable
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
s. They are large brown waders with a black crown, white forehead and large yellow facial wattles. The tail is white, tipped black, and the long legs are yellow. In flight, the upperwings have black flight feathers and brown coverts separated by a white bar. The underwings are white with black flight feathers. The African wattled lapwing has a loud ''peep-peep'' call. This species is a common breeder in wet lowland habitats, especially damp grassland. It often feeds in drier habitats, such as golf courses, picking
insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...
s and other invertebrates from the ground. It lays three or four eggs on a ground scrape. The African wattled lapwing is one of the species to which the ''Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds'' (
AEWA The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds, or African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), is an independent international treaty developed under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme's Convent ...
) applies.


Gallery

File:Vanellus senegallus -Kenya -upper body-8.jpg, Upper body File:035 African wattled lapwing incubating eggs in the Serengeti National Park Photo by Giles Laurent.jpg, Incubating eggs


References


External links

* Wattled plover
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds


Bibliography

* ''Shorebirds'' by Hayman, Marchant and Prater {{Taxonbar, from=Q875949 African wattled lapwing African wattled lapwing African wattled lapwing African wattled lapwing Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus