Yellow-wattled Lapwing
Encyclopedia
The Yellow-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus malabaricus, is a lapwing
, a group of medium sized wader
s in the family Charadriidae
. It is a non-migratory breeder restricted to the Indian Subcontinent
and is found on the dry plains. Although they do not migrate
, they are known to make seasonal movements in response to rains. Like other lapwings and plovers, they are ground birds and their nest is a mere collection of tiny pebbles within which their well camouflaged eggs are laid. The chicks are nidifugous
, leaving the nest shortly after hatching and following their parents to forage for food.
s found in dry stony and open grassland or scrub habitats. They are medium-sized pale brown waders with a black crown which is separated from the brown on the neck by a narrow white band and large yellow facial wattles. The chin and throat are black and the brown neck and upper breast is separated from the white belly by a narrow blackish line. The tail has a subterminal black band which does not extend into the outer tail-feathers. There is a white wingbar on the inner half of the wing. The bill is yellow at the base. They have tiny yellow carpal spurs. The crown feathers can be raised slightly in displays. They are mostly sedentary but populations make long distance movements in response to the monsoons. They are occasional visitors to the Katmandu valley in Nepal.
There are no recognized races, but there is a size increase from south to north. They are 260-280mm long with a wing of 192-211mm, bill 23-26mm, tarsus 57-66mm and tail 71-84mm. Juveniles have a brown crown and the sexes are alike but males have slightly longer wings and tarsi. The call is a sharp tchee-it call.
Local names include Zirdi in Hindi, Chitawa in Telugu and Jithiri in Rajasthan. It is called Jithiri in Pakistan, Pili tatihri in Punjabi, Laori in Madhya Pradesh, Parasna titodi or Vagdau titodi in Gujarati, Pitmukhi titvi in Marathi, Manjakanni in Malayalam, Haladi tittibha in Kannada and Kiraluwa in Sinhalese.
, being seen in a variety of open lowland habitats. It tends to be seen in drier habitats than the Red-wattled Lapwing
, Vanellus indicus. They are found in most parts of India, parts of Pakistan Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. They make short distance movements in response to rain but the exact pattern is not known.
young are well camouflaged as they forage with the parents. Chicks squat flat on the ground and freeze when parents emit an alarm call. A second brood may be raised, particularly when the first fails and young from a previous brood have been seen along with parent birds incubating a second clutch. Simultaneous courtship displays among several pairs in close proximity has been noted. In one study more than 60% of the nests had 4 eggs-clutches with the rest having 3 eggs. Hatching success was found to be about 27.58% and egg loss was due to predation and nest damage. The incubation period was 27–30 days. When the nests are approached, the incubating bird attempts to move away from the nest without drawing attention to it.
The food of the Yellow-wattled Lapwing is beetles, termites and other invertebrates, which are picked from the ground. The feather mite
Magimelia dolichosikya has been noted as an ectoparasite of this species.
Lapwing
Vanellinae are any of various crested plovers, family Charadriidae, noted for its slow, irregular wingbeat in flight and a shrill, wailing cry. Its length is 10-16 inches. They are a subfamily of medium-sized wading birds which also includes the plovers and dotterels. The Vanellinae are...
, a group of medium sized wader
Wader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
s in the family Charadriidae
Charadriidae
The bird family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings, about 64 to 66 species in all.- Morphology :They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings, but most species of lapwing may have more rounded wings...
. It is a non-migratory breeder restricted to the Indian Subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
and is found on the dry plains. Although they do not migrate
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
, they are known to make seasonal movements in response to rains. Like other lapwings and plovers, they are ground birds and their nest is a mere collection of tiny pebbles within which their well camouflaged eggs are laid. The chicks are nidifugous
Nidifugous
Nidifugous organisms are those that leave the nest shortly after hatching or birth. It is derived from Latin nidus for "nest" and fugere meaning "to flee". The terminology is most often used to describe birds and was introduced by Lorenz Oken in 1916...
, leaving the nest shortly after hatching and following their parents to forage for food.
Description
These are conspicuous and unmistakable birdBird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s found in dry stony and open grassland or scrub habitats. They are medium-sized pale brown waders with a black crown which is separated from the brown on the neck by a narrow white band and large yellow facial wattles. The chin and throat are black and the brown neck and upper breast is separated from the white belly by a narrow blackish line. The tail has a subterminal black band which does not extend into the outer tail-feathers. There is a white wingbar on the inner half of the wing. The bill is yellow at the base. They have tiny yellow carpal spurs. The crown feathers can be raised slightly in displays. They are mostly sedentary but populations make long distance movements in response to the monsoons. They are occasional visitors to the Katmandu valley in Nepal.
There are no recognized races, but there is a size increase from south to north. They are 260-280mm long with a wing of 192-211mm, bill 23-26mm, tarsus 57-66mm and tail 71-84mm. Juveniles have a brown crown and the sexes are alike but males have slightly longer wings and tarsi. The call is a sharp tchee-it call.
Local names include Zirdi in Hindi, Chitawa in Telugu and Jithiri in Rajasthan. It is called Jithiri in Pakistan, Pili tatihri in Punjabi, Laori in Madhya Pradesh, Parasna titodi or Vagdau titodi in Gujarati, Pitmukhi titvi in Marathi, Manjakanni in Malayalam, Haladi tittibha in Kannada and Kiraluwa in Sinhalese.
Habitat and distribution
This species is common in much of IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, being seen in a variety of open lowland habitats. It tends to be seen in drier habitats than the Red-wattled Lapwing
Red-wattled Lapwing
The Red-wattled Lapwing is a lapwing or large plover, a wader in the family Charadriidae. It has characteristic loud alarm calls which are variously rendered as did he do it or pity to do it leading to colloquial names like the did-he-do-it bird...
, Vanellus indicus. They are found in most parts of India, parts of Pakistan Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. They make short distance movements in response to rain but the exact pattern is not known.
Behaviour and ecology
These lapwings breed in the dry season with peak breeding in March to May ahead of the monsoons. They lay four eggs in a ground scrape. A nest in a clump of grass has been noted as exceptional. Parents visit water and wet their breast feathers ("belly soaking"; they may stay for as much as 10 minutes to soak water ) which may then be used to cool the eggs or chicks. The four eggs typically hatch simultaneously, even though they are laid with a difference of a few days. The nidifugousNidifugous
Nidifugous organisms are those that leave the nest shortly after hatching or birth. It is derived from Latin nidus for "nest" and fugere meaning "to flee". The terminology is most often used to describe birds and was introduced by Lorenz Oken in 1916...
young are well camouflaged as they forage with the parents. Chicks squat flat on the ground and freeze when parents emit an alarm call. A second brood may be raised, particularly when the first fails and young from a previous brood have been seen along with parent birds incubating a second clutch. Simultaneous courtship displays among several pairs in close proximity has been noted. In one study more than 60% of the nests had 4 eggs-clutches with the rest having 3 eggs. Hatching success was found to be about 27.58% and egg loss was due to predation and nest damage. The incubation period was 27–30 days. When the nests are approached, the incubating bird attempts to move away from the nest without drawing attention to it.
The food of the Yellow-wattled Lapwing is beetles, termites and other invertebrates, which are picked from the ground. The feather mite
Feather mite
Feather mites are the members of diverse mite superfamilies:* superorder Acariformes** Psoroptidia*** Analgoidea*** Freyanoidea*** Pterolichoidea* superorder Parasitiformes** DermanyssoideaThey are ectoparasites on birds, hence the common name....
Magimelia dolichosikya has been noted as an ectoparasite of this species.
Other sources
- Dhindsa,MS (1983): Yellow-wattled Lapwing: a rare species in Haryana and Punjab. Pavo 21(1&2), 103-104.
- Jayakar,SD; Spurway,H (1965): Interference with a nest site of the Yellow-wattled Lapwing. Newsletter for BirdwatchersNewsletter for BirdwatchersNewsletter for Birdwatchers is an Indian periodical of ornithology and birdwatching founded in 1960 by Zafar Futehally, who edited it until 2003. It was initially mimeographed and distributed to a small number of subscribers each month. The editorial board in its early years included Salim Ali,...
5(6), 5. - Jayakar,SD; Spurway,H (1965): Interference with a nest site of the Yellow-wattled Lapwing. Newsletter for BirdwatchersNewsletter for BirdwatchersNewsletter for Birdwatchers is an Indian periodical of ornithology and birdwatching founded in 1960 by Zafar Futehally, who edited it until 2003. It was initially mimeographed and distributed to a small number of subscribers each month. The editorial board in its early years included Salim Ali,...
5(8), 6-7. - Janaki Rama Rao, N., Vikramrka, A. & Chari, N. (1983). Flight characteristics, moment of inertia of the wing and flight behaviour of yellow-wattled lapwing Lobipluvia malabarica (Boddaert). Comp. Physiol. Ecol. 8, 1–4.