- Vanellus gregarius
Identification
27-30 cm
- Grey
- Black and chestnut belly
- White supercilium
- Black crown and eye-stripe
Winter adult brown, though retains supercilium and crown pattern
Juvenile: brown, slightly scalloped upperparts. Streaked black below with large white supercilium.
Similar Species
The White-tailed Lapwing has no supercilium or crown patch; has longer legs and lacks black subterminal tail-band.
Distribution
Breeds in Russia and Kazakhstan, migrating through Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey, to winter in Israel, Syria, Eritrea, Sudan and north-west India.
Occasionally found wintering in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Oman.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Steppes where bare saline areas occur near water-bodies.
Behaviour
Diet
Their diet includes insects and other small prey which it picks mainly from grassland or arable.
Breeding
Three to five eggs are laid in a ground nest.
References
- Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- BirdLife International
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Sociable Lapwing. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 December 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Sociable_Lapwing
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
