Black-winged Lapwing - BirdForum Opus

Vanellus melanopterus

Photo by Tamir
Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, October 2004

Identification

• Grey head, neck, and upper breast with white forehead patch reaching around the eye
• Black breast band
• White belly and flanks
• Greyish-brown upperside

In flight shows:

• Upperside of wing: brown wing coverts and black flight feathers separated by white wingbar
• Underside of wing: white with black flight feathers
• Two-toned tail with inner half white and outer black

Distribution

Juvenile
Photo by Alan Manson
Midmar Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, October 2007

Disjunctly distributed through Eastern African highlands: Ethiopia to South Africa.

Taxonomy

Photo by PicMan
Ethiopia, February 1997

Subspecies¹

• V. m. melanopterus - Extreme southern Sudan to Ethiopia; south-western Kenya to central Tanzania
• V. m. minor - Eastern Cape Province to north-eastern Transvaal; winters to southern Mozambique

Habitat

Short grassland.

Behaviour

Gregarious; usually in groups of 4-20 birds, often with Crowned Lapwing.

Diet

Feeds on invertebrates.

Breeding

The clutch consists of 3 large dark eggs which are incubated for about 28 days; the young fledge after a further month.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Black-winged Lapwing. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 14 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-winged_Lapwing

External Links

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