Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Masked Lapwing

This post is for World Bird Wednesday.

Masked Lapwings (Vanellus miles) are very common around here. There are numbers of them living on the empty house blocks. I have also seen them around the bay in among the shorebirds. They prefer places where the grass is not too tall and make a nest by simply finding a grass clump and sitting down on it.
They used to be called Spur-winged Plovers because of the bony spur on their wings. They are most aggressive birds and swoop down on predators and use the spur on their wings to drive them off. Unfortunately, when they have a nest or young ones they see anything that moves close to them as a threat and dive in to attack. It is impossible to walk safely along the road if a pair of them are nesting close by.
Because they are so aggressive I let my dog chase them out of my yard. However, they know that the dog is safely tied up at night so a pair of them flies in just as it is getting dark and stays for the night. The empty house blocks are open to roaming cats and dogs at night and they obviously prefer the safety of my yard.

26 comments:

  1. I love them. We used to have many of them around, but now they moved.

    ReplyDelete
  2. very interesting-looking birds. i'd hate the aggressive part, though.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great captures Mick! Such a beautiful bird.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I haven't seen this kind of bird. And I love birds setting on my yard. But we have barn cats and lately I found bird feathers on the ground. I think there is something going on here in the farm with out our knowing ^_^

    house finch

    ReplyDelete
  5. Really interesting looking bird, and must be quite smart. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow, what a cool looking bird. Great photo. It is a shame they are agressive.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Fascinating! I get a kick out of 'cheeky birds'!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wild looking bird and very formidible too as you describe. I suggest the Masked lapwing evolve an additional leg spur like the one pheasants down in the city use to fend off roaming cats and dogs. Excellent takes and terrific description.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Interesting bird, Mick. They sound like disagreeable daytime neighbors, but I guess you would not begrudge giving them shelter at nightghbors.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Another of your unusual birds. The variety of birds around the world amazes me.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lovely looking birds Mick. Never seen these before.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi there - when I am not wearing my "I'm a serious birder" hat I refer to these birds as "Birds of Stress" - they seem to live their lives on the edge of a nervous breakdown and attack anything that comes near. We have also caught as few (not intentionally!) when banding and are they ever noisy - they would put a flock of corellas to shame!

    Cheers - Stewart M

    ReplyDelete
  13. haha - the birds have a watchdog. At least they aren't nesting in your yard. sounds like that would be bit hard to deal with.

    Saw one or two when I was in Brisbane, but didn't realize they were that common.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Great info and photos! I guess that aggressiveness enables them to survive as a species.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Highly interesting bird with aggressive habits. Can they really cause harm?

    ReplyDelete
  16. OH MY...never seen this one before--its a stunning bird!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Interesting. A bird I have not seen enven in pictures. So weirdlooking in the face and slim body. Strange!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I wouldn't like to be chased by them, but they are beautiful, and they are new to me. Love their yellow faces! Great captures!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I love seeing birds from other places.. Michelle

    ReplyDelete
  20. Pretty! I'll probably show you one of our lapwings on coming WBW.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Wow! Are you sure this is not a winged dinosaur?

    ReplyDelete
  22. What a fantastic bird! I don't think I've ever seen it before and I love it. Wonderful shots too.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I find it odd that they are so aggressive in your area. I sat within 4" of a nesting female who actually retracted her spurs, so did the male after she had called in the cavellery.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Wow what an interesting bird Mick. It just goes to show that one man's common bird is another's rarity.

    It's pretty funny that they just plop down on a tuft of grass for nesting. Great photos!

    ReplyDelete