Long-toed lapwing

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Long-toed lapwing
Long-toed Lapwing, Amboseli NP, Kenya 08.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Charadriidae
Genus: Vanellus
Species:
V. crassirostris
Binomial name
Vanellus crassirostris
(Hartlaub, 1855)
Synonyms

Chetusia crassirostrisHartlaub, 1855Hemiparra crassirostris(Hartlaub, 1855)

Contents

The long-toed lapwing (Vanellus crassirostris), also known as the long-toed plover, is a species of wading bird in the lapwing subfamily, within the family Charadriidae. It is mainly sedentary and found across central and eastern Africa, from Chad and South Sudan in the north to Mozambique in the southeast of its range. It is one of 13 species of ground-nesting lapwings found in Africa.

Taxonomy

The long-toed lapwing was formally described by Gustav Hartlaub in 1855 under the binomial name Chettusia crassirostris in the Journal für Ornithologie. [2] The species is now one of 24 placed with the other lapwings in the genus Vanellus which was described in 1760 by Mathurin Jacques Brisson, a French zoologist. [3] Vanellus comes from the Medieval Latin 'vannus', meaning winnowing fan, a reference to the sound of the wings of lapwings in flight. [4] The species name crassirostris means thick-billed.

The long-toed lapwing was formerly placed within the monospecific genus Hemiparra, but now resides in the genus Vanellus with other lapwings. [5] Vanellus is one of 10 genera of the family Charadriidae, which aside from the lapwings also contains plovers and dotterels. Members of Charadriidae generally hunt invertebrates by sight with a run-and-pause technique and most have a socially monogamous mating system.

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized: nominate V. c. crassirostris is found mainly from South Sudan to Uganda, and V. c. leucopterus is distributed from Tanzania to northeast South Africa, as well as western Angola. [6] [5] Their ranges meet in Tanzania, southeast D.R. Congo, and northern Malawi, where there is an intergrade zone, [5] in which both subspecies mate with each other. Intergrades were formerly treated as a separate subspecies V. c. hybrida. [5]

The two subspecies have slight differences in plumage and morphology. The nominate V. c. crassirostris has black flight feathers; in V. c. leucopterus, only the outer primary feathers are black while the inner primary and secondary flight feathers are white. [7] V. c. leucopterus has a shorter wing length yet a longer tarsus than V. c. crassirostris, although the differences in length are only on the order of millimetres. [7]

Description

Illustration by J. G. Keulemans of subspecies V. c. leucopterus (below) with white inner primary feathers and subspecies V. c. crassirostris (above) with only black primary feathers DefillipiaKeulemans.jpg
Illustration by J. G. Keulemans of subspecies V. c. leucopterus (below) with white inner primary feathers and subspecies V. c. crassirostris (above) with only black primary feathers

The long-toed lapwing measures 31 cm (12 in) in length with a body mass of 162–225 g (5.7–7.9 oz). [5] It is a brown, black, and white lapwing with long red legs, long toes, and a red bill with a black tip. It has short wing spurs and rounded wings; in flight it shows extensive white in the wing feathers, as well as legs and feet extending beyond the end of the tail. It is sexually monomorphic and has no seasonal variation in plumage. [5] Juveniles have a browner breast than adults and buff tips to feathers. Juvenile primary feathers are retained after the post-juvenile moult. [7]

Distinctive black and white head plumage of a long-toed lapwing Vanellus crassirostris (15721462002).jpg
Distinctive black and white head plumage of a long-toed lapwing

Similar Species

White-crowned lapwing is the only other lapwing with extensive white plumage in the wings, showing white on the primary and secondary flight feathers, but this pattern is distinct from long-toed lapwing which has black colouration on the primary flight feathers (and for V. c. crassirostris, black on the secondary feathers as well). [7]

Distribution and habitat

The long-toed lapwing is found across central and eastern Africa, from South Sudan in the north to Botswana, Mozambique, and northeast South Africa in the south of its range, as well as outlying populations in Chad and western Angola. [5] The long-toed lapwing prefers habitats of lakes, pools, marshes, floodplains, and swamps. [5] It finds its food of aquatic invertebrates on floating vegetation. It uses pool edges in the dry season, and in the wet season can often be found in flooded rice fields and wet grasslands. [5] Birds are sedentary as long as water remains. Nesting and foraging areas are generally the same. [8] It has been recorded up to an elevation of 1,300 m (4,300 ft) in Zambia. [9] The long-toed lapwing has similar habitat preferences to the African Jacana, both using floating weeds and fringing vegetation around water. [10] This direct association often leads lapwings to show aggressive behaviour towards jacanas, primarily as swooping attacks towards a jacana without making direct contact; one study found jacanas were attacked by adult lapwings once every 12 minutes. [11]

Behaviour

Diet and foraging

Long-toed lapwing in typical foraging habitat of aquatic vegetation Long-toed Lapwing, Wakiso, Uganda 1.jpg
Long-toed lapwing in typical foraging habitat of aquatic vegetation
Long-toed lapwing (right) with two blacksmith lapwings (left) which both share similar habitat Long-toed Lapwing, Chobe NP, Botswana (51879032927).jpg
Long-toed lapwing (right) with two blacksmith lapwings (left) which both share similar habitat

The long-toed lapwing is unusual among lapwings as it feeds with behaviour like jacanas, foraging for aquatic insects, larvae, beetles, ants, dragonfly nymphs, and snails on the surface of floating aquatic vegetation, spreading out its weight through the support of its long toes. There has been documentation of some individuals using one foot to stir water, likely to bring prey to the water’s surface, similar to the behaviour of blacksmith lapwing and spur-winged lapwing. [12] It regularly forages alone; however, in the dry season birds may gather in family groups or larger groups of 10 to 20, with one record of a group of approximately 80 reported from Malawi. [13] Foraging lapwings may follow spur-winged geese as the geese uproot dead vegetation and disturb aquatic invertebrates. [5] Long-toed lapwings also attack non-predator bird species in their territories, such as African jacana, blacksmith lapwing, and squacco heron, all with which the lapwings share foraging habitat. [11]

Reproduction

Long-toed lapwings are monogamous breeders that aggressively defend small territories (mean territory area is 2,900 m2 (0.29 ha) in Kenya [14] ) from neighbouring lapwings. Both sexes participate in the incubation of eggs in the nest, territory defence, and parental care of young. Chicks are fiercely defended by the parents from avian predators including African fish-eagles, harriers, and coucals. [15] Persistent alarm calls and swooping attacks are employed as intense anti-predator responses, as well as escape flights during which birds fly and hover over water. [15] Long-toed lapwings respond to predators such as harriers but can identify other raptors which are not predators, such as vultures, and do not respond to them. [15]

The nest can be made of plant material or mud, located on the ground near the edge of water or on floating vegetation. When placed near the water’s edge, the nest is a shallow scrape made of mud or plants. On floating vegetation, above water up to 1m deep, the nest is shaped like a cup and made from plants. Long-toed lapwings in swampy areas have also been known to use a platform of mosses and weeds. [16]

Female long-toed lapwings lay 1–4 brown or olive-coloured eggs with dark markings and incubate them for 27–30 days. [17] Chicks are precocial, leaving the nest only a few hours after hatching, and fledge approximately two months after hatching. Young regularly stay with parents a further 1–2 months after fledging. Parental behaviour, such as vigilance and tending young, reduces the foraging time of adults during the breeding season. [8]

Breeding happens all year throughout the long-toed lapwing’s range. [5] In central Africa, egg laying occurs from December to March, [5] while in eastern Africa from Uganda to northeast South Africa laying ranges from June to November. [13]

Vocalizations

Calls consist of repeated clicking with a metallic tone, described as “kick-k-k-k”, and a high-pitched “wheet” call when flushed. [14] Long-toed lapwings are more vocal during the breeding season, and they call rapidly as they attack other birds in their territories. [7]

Predators and parasites

Harriers, coucals, and African fish-eagles are avian predators of long-toed lapwings. [11]

Quill mites are obligatory ectoparasites which live and reproduce within the hollow quills of feathers, and a species associated with lapwings has been collected from long-toed lapwings in Tanzania. [18] Quill mites feed on fluids of birds by piercing the skin from inside the feather quill, and usually live on a specific host species or genus of birds. [19]

Conservation status

The long-toed lapwing is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and is not globally threatened. [20] Few population estimates have been made, however, except for the southern African population estimated between 25,000-50,000 individual birds. [21] Human encroachment on aquatic areas, including with livestock, poses a threat to the habitat of long-toed lapwings. [22]

Related Research Articles

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The northern lapwing, also known as the peewit or pewit, tuit or tewit, green plover, or pyewipe or just lapwing, is a bird in the lapwing subfamily. It is common through temperate Eurosiberia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charadriidae</span> Family of birds

The bird family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings. The family contains 69 species that are divided into 10 genera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lapwing</span> Subfamily of birds

Lapwings are any of various ground-nesting birds akin to plovers and dotterels. They range from 10 to 16 inches in length, and are noted for their slow, irregular wingbeats in flight and a shrill, wailing cry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-wattled lapwing</span> Species of bird

The red-wattled lapwing 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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masked lapwing</span> Species of bird in the family Charadriidae

The masked lapwing is a large, common and conspicuous bird native to Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea. It spends most of its time on the ground searching for food such as insects and worms, and has several distinctive calls. It is common in Australian fields and open land, and is known for its defensive swooping behaviour during the nesting season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bronze-winged jacana</span> Species of bird

The bronze-winged jacana is a wader in the family Jacanidae. It is found across South and Southeast Asia and is the sole species in the genus Metopidius. Like other jacanas it forages on lilies and other floating aquatic vegetation, the long feet spreading out its weight and preventing sinking. The sexes are alike but females are slightly larger and are polyandrous, maintaining a harem of males during the breeding season in the monsoon rains. Males maintain territories, with one male in the harem chosen to incubate the eggs and take care of the young. When threatened, young chicks may be carried to safety by the male under his wings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-wattled lapwing</span> Species of bird

The yellow-wattled lapwing is a lapwing that is endemic to the Indian Subcontinent. It is found mainly on the dry plains of peninsular India and has a sharp call and is capable of fast flight. Although they do not migrate, they are known to make seasonal movements in response to rains. They are dull grey brown with a black cap, yellow legs and a triangular wattle at the base of the beak. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African wattled lapwing</span> Species of bird

The African wattled lapwing, also known as the Senegal wattled plover or simply wattled lapwing, is a large lapwing, a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae. It is a resident breeder in most of sub-Saharan Africa outside the rainforests, although it has seasonal movements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-headed lapwing</span> Species of bird

The black-headed lapwing or black-headed plover is a large lapwing, a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae. It is a resident breeder across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia, although it has seasonal movements. It lays two or three eggs on a ground scrape.

<i>Vanellus</i> Genus of birds

Vanellus is the genus of waders which provisionally contains all lapwings except red-kneed dotterel, Erythrogonys cinctus. The name "vanellus" is Latin for "little fan", vanellus being the diminutive of vannus. The name is in reference to the sound lapwings' wings make in flight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wattled jacana</span> Species of bird

The wattled jacana is a wader in the family Jacanidae found throughout much of South America east of the Andes, as well as western Panama and Trinidad. It is the only species in the Jacanidae family with such a large distribution. Wattled jacanas have long toes and claws which help them walk through aquatic vegetation. Like the majority of species of jacanas, the female is larger than the male, and forms harems of up to 4 or 5 males at any given time. There is also a major difference in proportional development or ornamentation and defense relative to body size when compared to males.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blacksmith lapwing</span> Species of bird

The blacksmith lapwing or blacksmith plover is a lapwing species that occurs commonly from Kenya through central Tanzania to southern and southwestern Africa. The vernacular name derives from the repeated metallic 'tink, tink, tink' alarm call, which suggests a blacksmith's hammer striking an anvil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comb-crested jacana</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pied plover</span> Species of bird

The pied plover, also known as the pied lapwing, is a species of bird in the family Charadriidae. It is a bird of least concern according to the IUCN and can be found in northern South America. The species name cayanus refers to Cayenne, the capital of French Guiana, where the pied plover can be found.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andean lapwing</span> Species of bird

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References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2016). "Vanellus crassirostris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22693954A93431306. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22693954A93431306.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Hartlaub, G (1855). "Ueber Chettusia erassirostris de Filippi". Journal für Ornithologie. 3 (5): 427. Bibcode:1855JOrni...3..427H. doi:10.1007/BF02009698. S2CID   39418835.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 397. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Wiersma, P; Kirwan, G M (2020). del Hoyo, J; Elliott, A; Sargatal, J; Christie, D A; de Juana, E (eds.). "Long-toed Lapwing (Vanellus crassirostris), version 1.0". Birds of the World. Ithaca, NY, USA: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. doi:10.2173/bow.lotlap1.01. S2CID   216248650.
  6. ↑ Clements, J F; Schulenberg, T S; Iliff, M J; Fredericks, T A; Gerbracht, J A; Lepage, D; Billerman, S M; Sullivan, B L; Wood, C L (2022). "The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022".
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Hayman, P J; Marchant, J; Prater, T (1986). Shorebirds. An Identification Guide to the Waders of the World. London, UK: Croom Helm.
  8. 1 2 Walters, J R (1982). "Parental Behavior in Lapwings (Charadriidae) and its Relationships with Clutch Sizes and Mating Systems". Evolution. 36 (5): 1030–1040. doi:10.2307/2408080. JSTOR   2408080. PMID   28567832.
  9. ↑ Dowsett, R J; Aspinwall, D R; Dowsett-Lemaire, F (2008). The Birds of Zambia. Liège, Belgium: Tauraco Press & Aves.
  10. ↑ Gamundani, P T; Moyo, T (2017). "A Comparison of Avian Diversity in Aquatic Environs of Kariba and the Zambezi River, Zimbabwe". American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences (ASRJETS). 35 (1): 319–331 – via Academia.edu.
  11. 1 2 3 Walters, J (1979). "Interspecific aggressive behaviour by long-toed lapwings (Vanellus crassirostris)". Animal Behaviour. 27: 969–981. doi:10.1016/0003-3472(79)90045-9.
  12. ↑ Ewbank, D A (2001). "Long-toed Plover Vanellus crassirostris foot-stirring". Scopus. 22 (59).
  13. 1 2 Dowsett, R J; Lemaire, F (2006). A Contribution to the Ornithology of Malawi. Tauraco Research Report 8 (PDF). Tauraco Press. ISBN   2-87225-003-4.
  14. 1 2 Urban, E K; Fry, C H; Keith, S, eds. (1986). The Birds of Africa (Volume 2 ed.). London, UK: Academic Press. ISBN   9780121373023.
  15. 1 2 3 Walters, J R (1990). "Anti-predatory behavior of lapwings: field evidence of discriminative abilities" (PDF). Wilson Bulletin. 102 (1): 49–70.
  16. ↑ Parkes, D A (2011). "Notes on the birds of Lake Gambue, Mozambique and breeding records of the Lesser Black-winged Plover". Honeyguide. 57 (2): 130–133.
  17. ↑ Tarboton, W (2001). A guide to the nests and eggs of Southern African birds. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN   1868722716.
  18. ↑ Zmudzinski, Mateusz; Skoracki, Maciej; Hromada, Martin; Unsoeld, Markus (2018-12-19). "Niglarobia vanelli, a new species of syringophilid quill mite associated with lapwings (Charadriiformes: Charadriidae)". Acta Parasitologica. 63 (4): 704–708. doi:10.1515/ap-2018-0082. ISSN   1896-1851. PMID   30367766. S2CID   53104957.
  19. ↑ Proctor, H; Owens, I (2000). "Mites and birds: diversity, parasitism and coevolution". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 15 (9): 358–364. doi:10.1016/s0169-5347(00)01924-8. ISSN   0169-5347. PMID   10931667.
  20. ↑ Birdlife International (2016). "Vanellus crassirostris". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. e.T22693954A93431306. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22693954A93431306.en .
  21. ↑ Delaney, S; Scott, D (2002). Waterbird Population Estimates (3rd ed.). Wageningen, the Netherlands: Wetlands International. ISBN   90-5882-012-2.
  22. ↑ Ward, D; Herremans, M (1997). "Longtoed Plover". In Harrison, J A; Allan, D G; Underhill, L G; Herremans, M; Tree, A J; Parker, V; Brown, C J (eds.). The Atlas of Southern African Birds (PDF). BirdLife South Africa. p. 402. ISBN   0-620-20730-2.
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