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Southern Lapwing - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by Fabio
Gramado, Brazil, March 2006
Vanellus chilensis

Identification

31-33 cm

  • Brownish-grey upperparts
  • Bronze glossing on shoulders
  • Grey head
  • Black forehead and throat patch which extends onto the black breast
  • White border separating the black of the face from the grey of the head and crest
  • White underparts
  • Eye ring, legs and most of the bill are pink
  • Broad white wing bar separates the grey-brown of the back and wing coverts from the black flight feathers. *Red bony extensions under the wings (spurs), used to intimidate foes and fight birds of prey
  • Rump is white and the tail black.

Sexes similar; young birds are duller, with a shorter crest and browner face and breast.

Juveniles
Photo © by Celso Paris
Sorocaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1917

Distribution

South America.

Taxonomy

Subspecies[1]

Northern

  • V. c. cayennensis (Northern):

Southern

  • V. c. lampronotus (Central South America):
  • V. c. chilensis:
  • V. c. fretensis:

Habitat

Lakes, river banks or open grassland.

Photo © by Stanley Jones
Ceibas Loop, Entre Ríos Province, Argentina, October 2019

Behaviour

Diet

The diet includes insects and other small invertebrates.

Breeding

The nest is a bare ground scrape and 2-3 olive brown eggs are laid.

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

Recommended Citation

External Links

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

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