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Grey-headed Lapwing
Vanellus cinereus
Identify the Grey-headed Lapwing by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.
The Grey-headed Lapwing is a medium-sized lapwing of East Asia that breeds in north-east China and Japan and winters in northern Southeast Asia from north-east India to Cambodia. It has a grey head and neck with a dark breast band, a brown back, yellow legs and a yellow bill with a black tip, and shows bold black-and-white wings in flight. It is a very rare vagrant to Europe.
Did you know?
- It has strayed as far as Australia, Sri Lanka and northern Europe.
- In flight its black-and-white wings make it easy to recognise.
About the species
Identification
A medium-large lapwing without a crest, with a grey head and neck, a blackish breast band, brown upperparts and a white belly. The legs are long and yellow and the bill yellow with a black tip. In flight it shows white secondaries, black primaries and a white tail with a black band.
Family
Charadriidae
Size
Large (crow)
Colours
grey, brown, white, yellow, black
About the habitat
Wet grasslands, rice fields and marsh edges with shallow water, year-round.
Diet
Insects, worms and molluscs picked from soft mud and shallow water.
Behaviour
Breeds from April to July in wet fields and marsh edges, defending its nest noisily, and becomes gregarious in winter. It forages by walking and picking in shallow water and gives a sharp “chee-it” call.
Sources
Photo: Alpsdake, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vanellus cinereus.JPG
Text: Wikipedia (English), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey-headed_lapwing
