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River Lapwing - BirdForum Opus

Vanellus duvaucelii
Breeding pair in typical river-bed habitat
Photo © by Alok Tewari
River Baddi, Himalayan Foothills, Himachal Pradesh, India, 10 June 2013

Identification

29·5–31·5 cm (11½-12.5 in)

  • Brown upperparts
  • White rump
  • Black tail
  • Black crest, crown, face and central throat
  • Greyish-white neck sides and nape
  • Greyish-brown breast band
  • White underparts
  • Black belly patch
  • Black carpal spur ( seen better in the bird on right in the image here )
  • White under wings and upper wing secondaries
  • Brown upper wing coverts
Flying over river Ganga
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Rishikesh, Himalayan Foothills, Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, 5 October 2023

Distribution

Asia found on the rivers of India and Nepal to southwestern China and Indochina. And North Thailand with stragglers as far south as Bangkok

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species[1].

Habitat

Generally found on or near rivers with shingle and sand banks, wet grassland and farmland; and larger water bodies, such as reservoirs.

Behaviour

Breeding

The nest is a shallow ground scrape. The clutch consists of 2 eggs.

Diet

Their diet consists of worms, crustaceans and molluscs. They may also include frogs and tadpoles.

Behavior : attacking a Red-wattled Lapwing who ventured close to its nesting area
Photo © by Alok Tewari
River Baddi, Himalayan Foothills, Himachal Pradesh, India, 10 June 2013

Vocalisation

Recording by Alok Tewari
Calls given by a nesting pair on perception of threat due to presence of other birds.
River Baddi, Himalayan Foothills, Himachal Pradesh, India, 10 June 2013.

Recording by Alok Tewari
Chik ... chik calls; Two individuals calling in tandem, one of them sitting on a mid-stream boulder and other on the bank; strong background sound of fast flowing river is present; one call of a White Wagtail in the middle of the recording is also heard.
River Ganga, Rishikesh, Himalayan Foothills, Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, 5 October 2023

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved June 2015)
  3. https://www.hbw.com/species/river-lapwing-vanellus-duvaucelii#Descriptive_notes
  4. Wikipedia

Recommended Citation

External Links


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