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Lapwing Facts

Lapwing Facts
Lapwing is a type of wading bird that belongs to the family of plovers. It can be found in the temperate regions of Eurasia. Lapwing inhabits marshes, flooded areas, pastures, grasslands and fallow fields. Eggs of lapwings were consumed as delicacy in the past. Luckily, this practice is forbidden in most countries of Europe today. Number of lapwings in the wild is 2 times smaller than 20 years ago due to accelerated habitat loss (transformation of wetlands into the agricultural fields). Despite that, this bird is still not on the list of endangered species.
Interesting Lapwing Facts:
Lapwing can reach 11 to 13 inches in length and 4.5 to 11.6 ounces of weight.
Lapwing is covered with black and white plumage with tinge of green on the upper part of the body. Males and females look alike.
Both male and female have black crest on top of the head. Males have larger crest than females, while young birds have short, stumpy crests.
Lapwings have large, broad wings with rounded tips. They have a wingspan of 34 inches. Lapwings move their wings in a slowly, lazy manner that creates lapping noise, which is the reason why these animals are called "lapwings".
Lapwings are also known as "peewits" due to characteristic high-pitched calls "pee-wit" which males produce during the mating season. Lapwings also communicate via squeaks and crying sounds.
Lapwings are nocturnal animals (active during the night). They prefer to hunt during the night to avoid black headed gulls which often steal their food.
Lapwings are omnivores (eat meat and plants). Their diet is based on earthworms, leatherjackets, wireworms, larvae of insects, insects, spiders, mollusks, grains and seed. Lapwings use keen sense of hearing to detect their prey.
Main predators of lapwings are foxes and crows.
Lapwings are gregarious birds. They gather in flocks (large groups) during the winter.
Lapwings are migratory birds. They travel to the south during the winter to avoid low temperatures and lack of food.
Mating season of lapwings takes place from February to May or June.
Courtship consists of series of twists and turns that males perform in the air to attract females.
Lapwing nests in the shallow depression in the ground lined with grass and leaves. Male is responsible for the preparation of the nest. Female lays 3 to 4 olive-brown eggs covered with black spots. Both male and female incubate eggs during a period of 28 days.
Chicks are able to walk few days after birth. Lapwings take care of their chicks until they learn to fly, at the age of 5 or 6 weeks. They reach sexual maturity at the age of one year. Only 40% of young birds survive till the adulthood.
Life span of lapwings in the wild is 4 to 5 years.


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