Species of bird
The
northern lapwing
(
Vanellus vanellus
), also known as the
peewit
or
pewit
,
tuit
or
tewit
,
green plover
, or (in
Ireland
and Great Britain)
pyewipe
or just
lapwing
, is a
bird
in the
lapwing
subfamily. It is common through temperate
Eurosiberia
.
Taxonomy
[
edit
]
The northern lapwing was
formally described
by the Swedish naturalist
Carl Linnaeus
in 1758 in the
tenth edition
of his
Systema Naturae
under the
binomial name
Tringa vanellus
.
[4]
The species is now placed with the other lapwings in the
genus
Vanellus
that was introduced by the French zoologist
Mathurin Jacques Brisson
in 1760.
[5]
[6]
The scientific name
Vanellus
is
Medieval Latin
for the northern lapwing and derives from
vannus
, a
winnowing fan
.
[7]
The species is
monotypic
: no
subspecies
are recognised.
[6]
The name
lapwing
has been variously attributed to the "lapping" sound its wings make in flight, from the irregular progress in flight due to its large wings (the
Oxford 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 names
peewit
,
pewit
,
tuit
or
tew-it
are
onomatopoeic
and refer to the bird's characteristic call.
[9]
Description
[
edit
]
Display calls, Surrey, England
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 long
crest
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 of
peewit
.
[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.
Behaviour
[
edit
]
It is highly
migratory
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]
A northern lapwing mobbing a
Western marsh harrier
near its nest
It is a
wader
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 including
horses
and
cattle
.
In winter, it forms huge flocks on open land, particularly
arable land
and
mud-flats
.
It feeds primarily on insects and other small invertebrates. This species often feeds in mixed flocks with
golden plovers
and
black-headed gulls
, the latter often robbing the two plovers, but providing a degree of protection against predators.
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 the
Agreement 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 in
Ystad
.
-
Flying
-
Alarmed in flowery meadow on
Texel
, the Netherlands
-
Chick in the Netherlands
-
-
A large flock flying by
Population decline
[
edit
]
National surveys of
England
and
Wales
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.
[12]
The numbers of this species have been adversely affected by intensive agricultural techniques. In the
lowlands
this includes the loss of rough grassland, conversion to
arable
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 in
grazing
density.
Natural England
gives grant aid to help restore lapwing habitat within its
Environmental 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.
[13]
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.
[14]
In
Armenia
, 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.
[15]
In the
Middle 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 threatened
European turtle dove
and
European golden-plover
, killed for sport in unsustainable and unnecessary numbers.
[16]
Cultural significance
[
edit
]
Lapwing Incubating Its Eggs
?A photograph for which in 1895
R. B. Lodge
received from the
Royal 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.
[17]
However,
Ottomar Anschutz
had photographed wild
white storks
(
Ciconia ciconia
) in 1884.
[18]
Harvesting eggs
[
edit
]
"
Plover's eggs
" were an expensive
delicacy
in Victorian Europe, mentioned in
Evelyn Waugh
's
Brideshead Revisited
, about aristocratic British society in 1920?40. In the
Netherlands
, there is a cultural-historical competition to find the first peewit egg of the year (
het eerste kievietsei
). It is especially popular in the province
Friesland
, but there are also regional competitions. Gathering peewit eggs is prohibited by the
European 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 Frisian
executive councillors
had not properly followed procedure.
[19]
[20]
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, in
Eemnes
,
Utrecht
,
[21]
and the first egg of 2009 was found on 8 March in
Krabbendijke
.
[22]
Over the last century, the first peewit egg has been found earlier and earlier in the year. This is ascribed to both increased use of
fertiliser
and
climate change
, causing the growth of grass needed for egg laying to occur earlier.
[23]
In Ireland
[
edit
]
King Philip II
with a feather in his cap.
The northern lapwing was declared the
Republic of Ireland
's
national bird
by a committee of the
Irish Wildlife Conservancy
in 1990.
[24]
[25]
[26]
In the
Irish language
it is called
pilibin
, "little Philip", supposedly a reference to
Philip II of Spain
(
King of Ireland
1554?58), who often wore a feather in his cap.
[27]
Mythology
[
edit
]
The bird referred to in English translations of
Ovid
's
Metamorphoses
, book 6, as
lapwing
[28]
is probably the northern lapwing. Tereus is turned into an
epops
(6.674); Ovid presumably had the
hoopoe
in mind, whose crest indicates his royal status and whose long, sharp beak is a symbol of his violent nature.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
BirdLife International (2017) [amended version of 2016 assessment].
"
Vanellus vanellus
"
.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
.
2017
: e.T22693949A111044786.
doi
:
10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22693949A111044786.en
. Retrieved
15 January
2018
.
- ^
a
b
"
Vanellus vanellus
(Linnaeus, 1758) ? Northern Lapwing"
.
Species Inventory
. The Natural History Museum
. Retrieved
1 April
2020
.
- ^
"
Vanellus vanellus
"
.
Global Biodiversity Information Facility
. Retrieved
11 May
2022
.
- ^
Linnaeus, Carl
(1758).
Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis
(in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 148.
- ^
Brisson, Mathurin Jacques
(1760).
Ornithologie, ou, Methode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Varietes
(in French and Latin). Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche.
Vol. 1, p. 48
,
Vol. 5, p. 94
.
- ^
a
b
Gill, Frank
; Donsker, David;
Rasmussen, Pamela
, eds. (July 2021).
"Sandpipers, snipes, coursers"
.
IOC World Bird List Version 11.2
. International Ornithologists' Union
. Retrieved
22 November
2021
.
- ^
Jobling, James A (2010).
The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names
. London: Christopher Helm. p. 397.
ISBN
978-1-4081-2501-4
.
- ^
a
b
"Lapwing"
.
Oxford English Dictionary
(Online ed.).
Oxford University Press
.
(Subscription or
participating institution membership
required.)
- ^
"Peewit"
.
Dictionary.com
. Retrieved
2 February
2018
.
- ^
"Northern Lapwing
Vanellus vanellus
"
.
oiseaux-birds.com
. Retrieved
1 April
2020
.
- ^
Godfrey, W. Earl (1986).
The Birds of Canada
(Revised ed.). National Museum of Natural Sciences. p. 179.
ISBN
978-0-660-10758-5
.
- ^
"Lapwing
Vanellus vanellus
"
.
Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside
. British Trust for Ornithology
. Retrieved
1 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
.
- ^
"Northern Lapwing
Vanellus vanellus
in Armenia"
.
Armenian Bird Census, TSE NGO
.
- ^
"WorldWaders"
. 3 May 2013.
- ^
Eric Hosking
; Harold Lowes (1947),
Masterpieces of Bird Photography
,
William Collins, Sons
, p. 9,
ASIN
B000O8CPQK
,
Wikidata
Q108533626
- ^
Cox, Rosamund Kidman, ed. (2014).
Wildlife Photographer of the Year
. Firefly Books.
- ^
Walinga, Ruurd (17 March 2005).
"Dertig jaar juridische strijd om kievitseieren"
[Thirty year legal battle for plover's eggs] (in Dutch). Friesch Dagblad
. Retrieved
19 February
2009
.
- ^
Stichting De Faunabescherming and Nederlandse Vereniging tot bescherming van Vogels vs. het college van gedeputeerde staten van Fryslan
, [
ECLI:NL:RBLEE:2005:AT0660
03/518 BESLU & 03/547 BESLU] (Rechtbank Leeuwarden 16 March 2005).
- ^
"Eerste kievitsei van 2008 gevonden"
[First plover egg of 2008 found] (in Dutch).
Nederlandse Omroep Stichting
. 3 March 2008. Archived from
the original
on 10 March 2008
. Retrieved
19 February
2009
.
- ^
"Dutch spring heralded by lapwing egg"
. Radio Netherlands / Equi Parvi. 8 March 2009
. Retrieved
9 March
2009
.
- ^
"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
. Retrieved
19 February
2009
.
- ^
Reilly, Jerome (23 October 2016).
"Lapwing's tricolour feathers fit the bill"
.
Irish Independent
. Retrieved
1 April
2020
.
- ^
"National Bird of Ireland ? Northern Lapwing ? Light Future Art"
.
- ^
Egan, James (26 August 2018).
1000 Facts About Ireland
. Lulu.com.
ISBN
9780244110734
– via Google Books.
- ^
Fitzgerald, Ann (25 March 2017).
"Opinion: Connecting with nature a sure-fire way to bolster your wellbeing"
.
Farming Independent
. Retrieved
1 April
2020
.
- ^
Garth, Sir Samuel; Dryden, John; et al.
"
'Metamorphoses' by Ovid"
.
External links
[
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]