Spur-winged Plovers (Vanellus spinosus)
Lapwings
Wild Bird Feeders ... Wild Bird Food / Seed ... Binoculars ... Humming Bird Feeders / Feed ... Bird Houses / Bird Nests ... Woodworking Instructions to Build Bird Houses ... Recommended Books
The Spur-winged Plover (Vanellus spinosus) is a lapwing, a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae.
It breeds around the eastern Mediterranean, and in a wide band from sub-Saharan west Africa to Arabia. The Greek and Turkish breeders are migratory, but other populations are resident.
These are conspicuous and unmistakable birds. They are medium-large waders with black crown, chest, foreneck stripe and tail. The face, the rest of the neck and belly are white and the wings and back are light brown. The bill and legs are black.
The bird got its name because of a spur (a small claw) hidden in each of its wings. The Spur-winged Plover is known to sometimes use the wing-claws in an attack on animals and, rarely, people, who get too close to the birds' exposed offspring.
This species is declining in its northern range, but is abundant in much of tropical Africa, being seen at almost any wetland habitat in its range. Its striking appearance is supplemented by its noisy nature, with a loud did-he-do-it call.
This species has a preference for marshes and similar freshwater wetland habitats. It lays two blotchy yellowish eggs on a ground scrape.
The food of the Spur-winged Plover is insects and other invertebrates, which are picked from the ground.
The Spur-winged Plover is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org
If you would like to add to or correct any of the above information, or would like to share with web visitors your own experiences, please e-mail the webmaster.
Photo contributions are welcome!
