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Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus

The Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus) is an Asian lapwing or large plover, a wader in the family Charadriidae. Like other lapwings they are ground birds that are incapable of perching. Their characteristic loud alarm calls are indicators of human or animal movements and the sounds have been variously rendered as did he do it or pity to do it leading to the colloquial name of did-he-do-it bird.

Usually seen in pairs or small groups and usually not far from water they sometimes form large aggregations in the non-breeding season (winter). They nest in a ground scrape laying three to four camouflaged eggs. Adults near the nest fly around, diving at potential predators while calling noisily.

The cryptically patterned chicks hatch and immediately follow their parents to feed, hiding by lying low on the ground or in the grass when threatened.

Distribution
It breeds from West Asia (Iraq, SW Iran, Persian Gulf) eastwards across South Asia (Baluchistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the entire Indian subcontinent up to Kanyakumari and up to 1800m in Kashmir/Nepal), with another sub-species further east in Southeast Asia.

May migrate altitudinally in spring and autumn (e.g. in N. Baluchistan or NW Pakistan), and spreads out widely in the monsoons on creation of requisite habitats, but by and large the populations are resident.

This species is declining in its western range, but is abundant in much of South Asia, being seen at almost any wetland habitat in its range.

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus

Ornithological Portal Oiseaux.net
Range map from www.oiseaux.net - Ornithological Portal Oiseaux.net
www.oiseaux.net is one of those MUST visit pages if you're in to bird watching. You can find just about everything there

Taxonomy
Traditionally well-known to native hunters, the Red-wattled Lapwing was first described in a book by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux in 1781. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle produced uinder the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text.

Neither the plate nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert used the binomial name Tringa indica in his catalogue of the Planche Enluminées. The type locality is Goa in western India.

It was subsequently placed in various other genera such as Sarcogrammus and Lobivanellus before being merged into Vanellus which was erected by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. Vanellus is the Medieval Latin for a "lapwing". It is a diminutive of the Latin vanus meaning "winnowing" or "fan". The specific epithet indicus is the Latin for "India"

Across their wide range there are slight differences in the plumage and there are four recognized subspecies:

• V. i. aigneri (Laubmann, 1913) – southeast Turkey to Pakistan

• V. i. indicus (Boddaert, 1783) – central Pakistan to Nepal, northeast India and Bangladesh

• V. i. lankae (Koelz, 1939) – Sri Lanka

• V. i. atronuchalis (Jerdon, 1864) – northeast India to south China, southeast Asia, Malay Peninsula and north Sumatra


Description
Red-wattled Lapwings are large waders, about 35 cm long. The wings and back are light brown with a purple to green sheen, but the head, a bib on the front and back of the neck are black. Prominently white patch runs between these two colours, from belly and tail, flanking the neck to the sides of crown.

Short tail is tipped black. A red fleshy wattle in front of each eye, black-tipped red bill, and the long legs are yellow. In flight, prominent white wing bars formed by the white on the secondary coverts.

Race aigneri is slightly paler and larger than the nominate race and is found in Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Indus valley. The nominate race is found all over India. The Sri Lankan race lankae is smaller and dark while atronuchalis the race in north-eastern India and eastern Bangladesh has a white cheek surrounded by black.

Males and females are similar in plumage but males have a 5% longer wing and tend to have a longer carpal spur. The length of the birds is 320-350mm, wing of 208-247mm with the nominate averaging 223mm, Sri Lanka 217mm. The Bill is 31-36mm and tarsus of 70-83mm. Tail length is 104-128mm.

It usually keeps in pairs or trios in well-watered open country, ploughed fields, grazing land, and margins and dry beds of tanks and puddles. They occasionally form large flocks, ranging from 26 to 200 birds. It is also found in forest clearings around rain-filled depressions. It runs about in short spurts and dips forward obliquely (with unflexed legs) to pick up food in a typical plover manner.

Length: 35 cm
Wingspan: 80 - 81 cm
Weight: 110 - 230 g
Longevity:
Distinctive Feature

Similar Species



From opus at www.birdforum.net the forum for wild birds and birding.
Female / Male / Juvenile



From opus at www.birdforum.net the forum for wild birds and birding.


They are said to feed at night being especially active around the full moon. Is uncannily and ceaselessly vigilant, day or night, and is the first to detect intrusions and raise an alarm, and was therefore considered a nuisance by hunters. Flight rather slow, with deliberate flaps, but capable of remarkable agility when defending nest or being hunted by a hawk.

Its striking appearance is supplemented by its noisy nature, with a loud and scolding did-he-do-it call, uttered both in the day and night.

Leucistic abnormal plumages have been noted.

Leucistic

adjective  Zoology (of an animal) having whitish fur, plumage, or skin due to a lack of pigment.
ORIGIN from LEUCO- white + the adjectival suffix -istic.

The local names are mainly onomatopoeic in origin and include titeeri (Hindi), tittibha (Kannada), tateehar (Sindhi), titodi (Gujarati), hatatut (Kashmiri), balighora (Assamese), yennappa chitawa (Telugu), aal-kaati (Tamil, meaning "human indicator").

Listen to the Red-wattled Lapwing



Remarks from the Recordist

The lapwing took flight as I approached. The call was an alarm raised up on my arrival.

The lapwing took one full circle over my head and landed close to where it had taken the flight from. (Unedited file.)


Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my ZOOM H5 Handy Recorder. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity

The bird called non stop from we arrived until we left. Most likely a nest close by



Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my ZOOM H5 Handy Recorder. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity

Driving around on the golf course with the golf cart when I record this bird. Many Red-wattled Lapwings around the golf course



Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my ZOOM H5 and high pass filter with Audacity applied

Looked to be a couple. First bird give flight call flying around the bird on the ground that start to call. We hear the bird on the ground take off at the end to join the other flying bird. The bird on the picture is the bird on the ground


www.xeno-canto.org

Behaviour and ecology
The breeding season is mainly March to August. The courtship involves the male puffing its feathers and pointing its beak upwards. The male then shuffles around the female. Several males may display to females and they may be close together. The eggs are laid in a ground scrape or depression sometimes fringed with pebbles, goat or hare droppings.

About 3–4 black-blotched buff eggs shaped a bit like a peg-top (pyriform), 42x30 mm on average. Nests are difficult to find since the eggs are cryptically coloured and usually matches the ground pattern. In residential areas, they sometimes take to nesting on roof-tops. They have been recorded nesting on the stones between the rails of a railway track, the adult leaving the nest when trains passed.

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Nest with eggs
Yala, Sri Lanka - May 2017

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing sitting on eggs
Yala, Sri Lanka - May 2017

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing sitting on eggs
Yala, Sri Lanka - May 2017

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing baby
Bang Chak paddies, Phetchaburi - June 2020

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing baby
Bang Chak paddies, Phetchaburi - June 2020

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing baby
Bang Chak paddies, Phetchaburi - June 2020

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing baby
Bang Chak paddies, Phetchaburi - June 2020

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing baby
Bang Chak paddies, Phetchaburi - June 2020

Nests that have been threatened by agricultural operations have been manually translocated by gradually shifting the eggs. When nesting they will attempt to dive bomb or distract potential predators. Both the male and female incubate the eggs and divert predators using distraction displays or flash their wings to deter any herbivores that threaten the nest.

Males appear to relieve females incubating at the nest particularly towards the hot part of noon. The eggs hatch in 28 to 30 days. The reproductive success is about 40%. Egg mortality is high (~43%) due to predation by mongooses, crows and kites. Chicks had a lower mortality (8.3%) and their survival improved after the first week.

Like other lapwings, they soak their belly feathers to provide water to their chicks as well as to cool the eggs during hot weather.

The chick leaves the nest and follows the parents soon after hatching. They bathe in pools of water when available and will often spend time on preening when leaving the nest or after copulation. They sometimes rest on the ground with the tarsi laid flat on the ground and at other times may rest on one leg.

Healthy adult birds have few predators and are capable of rapid and agile flight when pursued by hawks or falcons. Some endoparasitic tapeworms and trematodes have been described from the species.

Mortality caused by respiratory infection by Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale has been recorded in captive birds in Pakistan.


Bundala National Park - 22nd of May 2017

We drive on the dirt road and suddenly we see a Red-wattled Lapwing and Yellow-wattled Lapwing. At first I think it is two Red-wattled Lapwings. But when we came closer I could see that it was a Yellow-wattled Lapwing. Good I thought, I can have a picture with both of them, nice to see the difference in size.

I was soon to discover that here was something going on. When the Red-wattled Lapwing was leaving the Yellow-wattled Lapwing got up and started to follow the Red-wattled Lapwing. The Red-wattled Lapwing turned around walking towards the other bird and the and Yellow-wattled Lapwing laid down again

It continued and the Red-wattled Lapwing started to get annoyed. Now they got head on and the Yellow-wattled Lapwing started to cry. Now my Guide/ Driver asked me to take a video, but it was too late.

Another Yellow-wattled Lapwing came from behind us and the bird dove down on the Red-wattled Lapwing and feathers were thrown in all directions. Then the Yellow-wattled Lapwing flew back to sit on the eggs. It was over in a few seconds. A few seconds that would have been nice to have on video.

Red-wattled Lapwing and Yellow-wattled Lapwing
Red-wattled Lapwing and Yellow-wattled Lapwing

Red-wattled Lapwing and Yellow-wattled Lapwing
Red-wattled Lapwing and Yellow-wattled Lapwing

Red-wattled Lapwing and Yellow-wattled Lapwing
Red-wattled Lapwing and Yellow-wattled Lapwing

Yellow-wattled Lapwing - Vanellus malabaricus
Yellow-wattled Lapwing back to sit on the eggs

Diet
The diet of the lapwing includes a range of insects, snails and other invertebrates, mostly picked from the ground. They may also feed on some grains. They feed mainly during the day but they may also feed at night. They may sometimes make use of the legs to disturb insect prey from soft soil.

In culture
In parts of India, a local belief is that the bird sleeps on its back with the legs upwards and an associated Hindi metaphor Tithiri se asman thama jayega ("can the lapwing support the heavens?") is used to refer to persons undertaking tasks beyond their ability or strength.

In parts of Rajasthan it is believed that the laying of eggs by the lapwing on high ground was an indication of good rains to come. The eggs are known to be collected by practitioners of folk medicine.

Conservation status
Red-wattled Lapwing, นกกระแตแต้แว้ด, Vanellus indicus
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2.
International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.



From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

www.birdforum.net


Sighted: (Date of first photo that I could use) 7th of January 2016
Location: Gir National Park


Among others I have used Peter Ericsson's web page Birds of Thailand These galleries contain 668 species of the Birds of Thailand and have been of a great help to identify some of the birds as the birds in Thailand and India are, well, many of them are the same.

I have had most help from my friend, the bird pal I met at Suan Rot Fai. Sending pictures of birds I have not been able to identify to him via Line. 3 minutes later he and he have managed to identify most of the birds I have had problems with. THANKS! Visit his web page m☥lever for his beautiful pictures.

PLEASE! As I'm a first time birdwatcher bear in mind that some of the bird can be wrongly named. I have bought book and I confirm on the internet to get the right identity on the birds I take pictures off. But there can still be mistakes.

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing - 7 January 2016 - Gir National Park, India

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing - 7 January 2016 - Sasan Gir at the river outside Lion Safari Camp India

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing - 7 January 2016 - Sasan Gir at the river outside Lion Safari Camp India

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing - 29 January 2016 - Kanha Tiger Reserve
Fighting or making babies

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing - 29 January 2016 - Kanha Tiger Reserve
Fighting or making babies

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing - 29 January 2016 - Kanha Tiger Reserve
Fighting or making babies

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing - 29 January 2016 - Kanha Tiger Reserve
Fighting or making babies

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing - 29 January 2016 - Kanha Tiger Reserve
Fighting or making babies


Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing - Vanellus indicus
16th of May 2017 - Yala National Park, Sri Lanka

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing - Vanellus indicus
16th of May 2017 - Yala National Park, Sri Lanka

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing - Vanellus indicus
16th of May 2017 - Yala National Park, Sri Lanka

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing - Vanellus indicus
16th of May 2017 - Yala National Park, Sri Lanka

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing - Vanellus indicus
16th of May 2017 - Yala National Park, Sri Lanka

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing babies
22nd of May 2017 - Bundala National Park, Sri Lanka

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing nest - 22nd of May 2017 - Yala National Park
First pictures taken on the 21st, but I lost all the photos on the computer

Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
Red-wattled Lapwing nest - 23rd of May 2017 - Yala National Park



PLEASE! If I have made any mistakes identifying any bird, PLEASE let me know on my guestbook



       
                  



                                       

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