Waterbird Wednesday week 15: rare lapwings
Lpawings are birds in the genus Vanellus. In the UK, there is only one common species of lapwing - the Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus). However, there are a total of 24 species in the genus, including two other species that have been recorded in the UK - Sociable Plover/Lapwing (Vanellus gregarius) and White-tailed Plover/Lapwing (Vanellus leucurus). This blog will cover the identification of these two distinctive species.
Sociable Plover/Lapwing
The less rare of the two species, Sociable Lapwing have been recorded 43 times in the UK. This species breeds in Central Asia, wintering in NE Africa and parts of the Middle East. It is impossible to confuse this species with Northern Lapwing - in all plumages it has light brown upperparts with a strong light supercilium. In flight shows a black bank on the white tail, with black primaries, white secondaries and brown coverts.
Adult summer
This species is at it's most striking in this plumage, with a dark cap, striking facisl markings, light brown upperparts and breast, a dark belly and light vent.
Adult winter
Adult winter plumage is, in effect, a duller version of summer plumage, with less striking facial markings, a flecked breast and lacking the dark belly.
Juvenile
Juvenile birds have yet duller facial markings, a streaked breast and a 'scalloped' pattern to the upperparts.
White-tailed Plover/Lapwing
With only 6 British records, this is a real mega in the UK. Their breeding grounds in Central Asia spread west to Iraq, and wintering birds are found in East Africa and India. They are, also, impossible to confuse with Northern Lapwing, with brown upperparts and breast with whitish underparts. The legs are far longer than Northern Lapwing, and, in flight, they show a fully white tail. The wing pattern in striking, with mainly brown coverts, then a band of white, ending in a large black tip.
Adult
Adult birds are very plain, with brown upperparts and a greyish breast, white belly, and a brown head with a large dark eye.
Juvenile
Juvenile birds are similar to adults, however have heavy spotting to the upperparts and crown.
