Spur-winged lapwing
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(February 2024) |
| Spur-winged lapwing | |
|---|---|
| |
| Upper side of wings - note the spurs on the leading edge of the carpal joint | |
| Calls recorded atLake Turkana,Kenya | |
Scientific classification
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Charadriidae |
| Genus: | Vanellus |
| Species: | V. spinosus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Vanellus spinosus | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Charadrius spinosusLinnaeus,1758 | |
Thespur-winged lapwingorspur-winged plover(Vanellus spinosus) is alapwingspecies,one of a group of largishwadersin the familyCharadriidae.
Taxonomy[edit]
The spur-winged lapwing wasformally describedin 1758 by the Swedish naturalistCarl Linnaeusin thetenth editionof hisSystema Naturae.He placed it with the plovers in thegenusCharadriusand coined thebinomial nameCharadrius spinosus.He specified thetype localityas Egypt.[2][3]The specific epithet is fromLatinmeaning "thorny" (fromspinameaning "thorn" ).[4]Linnaeus based his account on a description by the Swedish naturalistFredrik Hasselquistthat had been published in 1757.[5]The spur-winged lapwing is now one of 23 species placed in the genusVanellusthat was introduced in 1760 by the French naturalistMathurin Jacques Brisson.The species ismonotypic:nosubspeciesare recognised.[6]
Description[edit]
These are conspicuous and unmistakablebirds.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. Its striking appearance is supplemented by its noisy nature, with a louddid-he-do-itcall. The bird's common name refers to a smallclawor spur hidden in each of its wings.
Distribution[edit]
The spur-winged lapwing breeds around the easternMediterranean,and in a wide band from sub-SaharanwestAfricatoArabia.TheGreekandTurkishbreeders aremigratory,but other populations are resident. The 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. The spur-winged lapwing is one of the species to which theAgreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirdsapplies.[citation needed]
In eastern and southern Africa the species has seen a range increase, enteringZambiafor the first time in 1999 and spreading south and west.[7]
Behaviour and ecology[edit]
This species has a preference for marshes and similar freshwater wetland habitats. The food of the spur-winged lapwing isinsectsand other invertebrates, which are picked from the ground.
It lays four blotchy yellowish eggs on a ground scrape. The spur-winged lapwing 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.
Supposed cleaning symbiosis[edit]
The "spur-winged plover" was identified byHenry Scherrenas the "trochilus" bird said by the Greek historianHerodotus[8]to be involved in what would now be called acleaning symbiosiswith theNile crocodile.[9]However, there is no reliable evidence that this or any other species in fact has such a relationship,[10]although Cott does record that spur-winged plovers are the birds that most often feed around basking crocodiles, and are tolerated by them.[11]
Gallery[edit]
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Egg in nest -
Egg -MHNT -
Chick -
Adult -
A spur-winged lapwing in theGambia -
Underside of wings -
In Northern Israel, squawking at anyone or anything that came near its chick - showing its tongue. -
In Northern Israel squawking at anyone (or anything) who came near its chick, which can be seen taking cover behind the tractor wheel.
References[edit]
- ^BirdLife International (2016)."Vanellus spinosus".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2016:e.T22693983A86582288.doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22693983A86582288.en.Retrieved12 November2021.
- ^Linnaeus, Carl(1758).Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis(in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 151.
- ^Peters, James Lee,ed. (1934).Check-List of Birds of the World.Vol. 2. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 241.
- ^Jobling, James A. (2010).The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names.London: Christopher Helm. p. 362.ISBN978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^Hasselquist, Fredrik(1757).Iter Palæstinum, eller Resa til Heliga Landet, förrättad ifrån år 1749 til 1752: med beskrifnigar, rön, anmärkingar, öfver de märkvärdigaste naturalier, på Hennes Kongl. Maj.ts befallning(in Swedish and Latin). Vol. 1757. Stockholm: Trykt på L. Salvii kåstnad. pp. 260–261, No. 33.
- ^Gill, Frank;Donsker, David;Rasmussen, Pamela,eds. (December 2023)."Buttonquail, thick-knees, sheathbills, plovers, oystercatchers, stilts, painted-snipes, jacanas, Plains-wanderer, seedsnipes".IOC World Bird List Version 14.1.International Ornithologists' Union.Retrieved9 February2024.
- ^"Zambia".African Bird Club. 2017.Retrieved16 April2021.
- ^Herodotus."The Histories of Herodotus".Book II: Euterpe.Ancient Worlds. pp. 2:68. Archived fromthe originalon 19 July 2012.Retrieved12 February2012.
- ^Scherren, Henry(1906).Popular Natural History.Cassell. p. 268.
Mr. J.M. Cook, of the celebrated tourist agency, when in Egypt in 1876, "watched one of these birds, and saw it deliberately go up to a crocodile, apparently asleep, which opened its jaws. The bird hopped in, and the crocodile closed its jaws. In what appeared to be a very short time, probably not more than a minute or two, the crocodile opened its jaws, and we saw the bird go down to the water's edge." There were several of these birds about, and Mr. Cook shot two of them, which Dr. Sclater identified as Spur-winged Plovers; so that the question as to what bird enters the mouth of the crocodile is now set at rest.
- ^Macfarland, Craig G.; Reeder, W.G. (1974). "Cleaning symbiosis involving Galapagos tortoises and two species of Darwin's finches".Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie.34(5): 464–483.doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.1974.tb01816.x.PMID4454774.
- ^Cott, H. B. (1961). Scientific results of an inquiry into the ecology and economic status of the Nile Crocodile (Crocodilus niloticus) in Uganda and Northern Rhodesia.Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, 29,211-356.[1]
External links[edit]
- BirdLife species factsheet forVanellus spinosus
- "Vanellus spinosus".Avibase.
- "Spur-winged lapwing media".Internet Bird Collection.
- Spur-winged lapwing photo galleryat VIREO (Drexel University)
- Interactive range map ofVanellus spinosusatIUCN Red List maps
- Audio recordings of Spur-winged lapwingonXeno-canto.
