The Lapwing

The Lapwing

Vanellus vanellus

Now is the time to have a chance of seeing this wonderful bird. The ploughed field behind my house is an area of open farmland and usually visited by a large flock of Lapwings every Winter. At first glance, from a distance the birds appear black and white but when you get closer it is a stunning sight, with their exotic headdresses and iridescent plumage of green and purple they seem almost tropical. These birds are also known as  Green Plovers, because of the colours of their feathers or Peewits, due to their bird call

With rounded wings which are displayed to best effect as the Lapwing wheels about a big Winter sky in a huge flock. Its Latin name vanellus means ‘Little Fan’ this refers to the bird’s swooping flight. Keep an eye out for the next two months to have a chance of seeing these extraordinary birds with their elegant feathered crests. In Spring these flocks will disperse and some will breed in the UK but others will return to their Continental breeding grounds.

This once familiar Farmland bird is in need of our help, as numbers have declined significantly and it is now on the Red List

LISTEN HERE