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White-tailed Lapwing
Vanellus leucurus
Identify the White-tailed Lapwing by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.
The White-tailed Lapwing is a slender, long-legged lapwing of marshes from the Middle East to southern Russia and Central Asia. It has a pure white tail, very long yellow legs, a pale face and a greyish breast, and shows a brown, white and black wing pattern in flight. It breeds in loose colonies on inland marshes; some populations are resident, others winter in South Asia, the Middle East and north-east Africa.
Did you know?
- Unlike most lapwings, it often wades in fairly deep water.
- Its name leucurus is Greek for “white-tailed”.
About the species
Identification
A medium-sized wader (26–29 cm) with very long yellow legs and a slender, upright stance. The tail is pure white, and there is no crest. The upperparts are greyish-brown and the underparts pale; in flight the wings show a brown, white and black pattern. It differs from Northern Lapwing especially in its long legs and lack of a crest.
Family
Charadriidae
Size
Medium (thrush)
Colours
grey, white, yellow, black
About the habitat
Inland marshes, shallow lakes and wetland edges, including brackish and saline sites.
Diet
Mainly insects and other small invertebrates picked from the surface of water or mud.
Behaviour
Forages by delicately picking prey from the surface while wading, often in deeper water than other lapwings. It breeds in loose colonies, laying four eggs in a ground nest, and its breeding call is a “pee-wit” like the Northern Lapwing's.
Sources
Photo: Elşad İbrahimov, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vanellus leucurus, Ag-Gel National Park.jpg
Text: Wikipedia (English), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-tailed_lapwing
