Thenorthern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), also known as thepeewit orpewit,tuit ortewit,green plover, or (inIreland and Great Britain)pyewipe or justlapwing, is abird in thelapwing subfamily. It is common through temperateEurosiberia.
The namelapwing has been variously attributed to the "lapping" sound its wings make in flight, from the irregular progress in flight due to its large wings (theOxford English Dictionary derives this from an Old English word meaning "to totter"),[8] or from its habit of drawing potential predators away from its nest by trailing a wing as if broken. The namespeewit,pewit,tuit ortew-it areonomatopoeic and refer to the bird's characteristic call.[9]
The northern lapwing is a 28–33 cm (11–13 in) long bird with a 67–87 cm (26–34 in) wingspan and a body mass of 128–330 g (4.5–11.6 oz).[10] It has rounded wings and a crest. It is also the shortest-legged of the lapwings. It is mainly black and white, but the back is tinted green. The male has a longcrest and a black crown, throat and breast contrasting with an otherwise white face. Females and young birds have shorter crests, and have less strongly marked heads, but plumages are otherwise quite similar.
This is a vocal bird in the breeding season, with constant calling as the crazed tumbling display flight is performed by the male. The typical contact call is a loud, shrill "pee-wit" from which they get their other name ofpeewit.[8] Displaying males usually make a wheezy "pee-wit, wit wit, eeze wit" during their display flight; these birds also make squeaking or mewing sounds.
It is highlymigratory over most of its extensive range, wintering further south as far as North Africa, northern India, Nepal, Bhutan and parts of China. It migrates mainly by day, often in large flocks. Lowland breeders in westernmost areas of Europe are resident. It occasionally is a vagrant to North America, especially after storms, as in the Canadian sightings after storms in December 1927 and in January 1966.[11]
It is awader that breeds on cultivated land and other short vegetation habitats. 3–4 eggs are laid in a ground scrape. The nest and young are defended noisily and aggressively against all intruders, up to and includinghorses andcattle.
In winter, it forms huge flocks on open land, particularlyarable land andmud-flats.
It feeds primarily on insects and other small invertebrates. This species often feeds in mixed flocks withgolden plovers andblack-headed gulls, the latter often robbing the two plovers, but providing a degree of protection against predators. Additionally, they use one leg to beat the ground until worms surface, known as a variation ofworm charming.[12]
Like the golden plovers, this species prefers to feed at night when there is moonlight.
The northern lapwing is one of the species to which theAgreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
In some years the species is more sociable and gathers in large flocks after breeding. In the picture, part of a large flock estimated at around 3,000 individuals on September 24, 2017 inYstad.
Flying
Alarmed in flowery meadow onTexel, the Netherlands
National surveys ofEngland andWales have shown a population decline between 1987 and 1998, and since 2009 the northern lapwing has had red list conservation status in the United Kingdom.[13] The numbers of this species have been adversely affected by intensive agricultural techniques. In thelowlands this includes the loss of rough grassland, conversion toarable or improved grassland, loss of mixed farms, and switch from spring- to autumn-sown crops. In the uplands, the losses may have been due to increases ingrazing density.Natural England gives grant aid to help restore lapwing habitat within itsEnvironmental Stewardship Scheme. The organisation suggests an option within this scheme called 'Fallow plots for ground-nesting birds'. Uncropped plots at least 2 ha (4.9 acres) in size provide nesting habitat and are located in suitable arable fields, which provide additional foraging habitat. Locating the plots within 2 km (1.2 mi) of extensively grazed grassland will provide additional foraging habitat. The plots are cultivated in the spring to produce a rough fallow, which is retained without the input of fertiliser or pesticides.[14] In addition to agricultural intensification and land-use change, predation of nests and chicks contributes to wader declines, including of lapwing. By radio-tagging lapwing chicks, and using automatic radio tracking systems, the timing of chick predation can be revealed, which provides additional insights into the importance of different predators. Lapwing chicks are predated both in the day and at night, with mammalian predators having the greatest impact.[15]
InArmenia, the population decline and loss of breeding habitats was also documented; the threats are thought to be intensification of land use and hunting, but further investigations for threat clarification are required.[16] In theMiddle East, the northern lapwing is threatened by overhunting as it is shot in large quantities along its winter migration routes. Several photos surfacing from the region show many Northern lapwings, alongside other migratory birds including the threatenedEuropean turtle dove andEuropean golden-plover.[17]
Lapwing Incubating Its Eggs—A photograph for which in 1895R. B. Lodge received from theRoyal Photographic Society the first medal ever presented for nature photography.Eric Hosking and Harold Lowes stated their — incorrect — belief that this was the first photograph of a wild bird.[18] However,Ottomar Anschütz had photographed wildwhite storks (Ciconia ciconia) in 1884.[19]
"Plover's eggs" were an expensivedelicacy inVictorian Europe, mentioned inEvelyn Waugh'sBrideshead Revisited, about aristocratic British society in 1920–40. In theNetherlands, there is a cultural-historical competition to find the first peewit egg of the year (het eerste kievietsei). It is especially popular in the provinceFriesland, but there are also regional competitions. Gathering peewit eggs is prohibited by theEuropean Union, but Friesland was granted an exception for cultural-historical reasons. The Frisian exception was removed in 2005 by a court, which determined that the Frisianexecutive councillors had not properly followed procedure.[20][21] As of 2006 looking for peewit eggs is permitted between 1 March and 9 April, though harvesting the eggs is now forbidden. In 2008 the first egg was found on 3 March, inEemnes,Utrecht,[22] and the first egg of 2009 was found on 8 March inKrabbendijke.[23] Over the last century, the first peewit egg has been found earlier and earlier in the year. This is ascribed to both increased use offertiliser andclimate change, causing the growth of grass needed for egg laying to occur earlier.[24]
The bird referred to in English translations ofOvid'sMetamorphoses, book 6, aslapwing[29] is probably the northern lapwing. Tereus is turned into anepops (6.674); Ovid presumably had thehoopoe in mind, whose crest indicates his royal status and whose long, sharp beak is a symbol of his violent nature.
^Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760).Ornithologie, ou, Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Variétés (in French and Latin). Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche.Vol. 1, p. 48,Vol. 5, p. 94.
^"LapwingVanellus vanellus".Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside. British Trust for Ornithology. Retrieved1 April 2020.
^"Lapwings thrive on fallow plots".BTO News (269): 17. March–April 2007.
^Mason, L. R.; Smart, J.; Drewitt, A. L. (2018). "Tracking day and night provides insights into the relative importance of different wader chick predators".Ibis.160 (1):71–88.doi:10.1111/ibi.12523.
^Stichting De Faunabescherming and Nederlandse Vereniging tot bescherming van Vogels vs. het college van gedeputeerde staten van Fryslân, [ECLI:NL:RBLEE:2005:AT0660 03/518 BESLU & 03/547 BESLU] (Rechtbank Leeuwarden 16 March 2005).
^"Vinddatum eerste kievitsei in Friesland" [Dates of Discovery of the First Plover's Eggs in Friesland] (in Dutch). Compendium voor de Leefomgeving. 11 March 2021. Retrieved19 February 2009.
_-_2017_-Ystad.jpg)
_-Ystad-2023.jpg)
