How long do golden-plovers live?

What is a blacksmith plover (blacksmith lapwing)?

The Blacksmith Plover ( Vanellus armatus) is also called the Blacksmith Lapwing. The Blacksmith Plover is black, white, and grey, with a white crown and belly. It has a black face, neck, and back. Its wings are brown and black. Its beak and legs are black, and its eyes are red. It can grow to 30 centimetres (12 inches) tall.

Where does the blacksmith lapwing live?

Blacksmith lapwing. The blacksmith lapwing or blacksmith plover (Vanellus armatus) occurs commonly from Kenya through central Tanzania to southern and southwestern Africa.

What does a blacksmith lapwing sound like?

The call of the Blacksmith Lapwing, also known as a Blacksmith Plover, sounds like the noise of a blacksmiths hammer and gives them their common name. They are normally encountered in pairs or small groups. Their preferred habitat is wetland of a variety of types.

Where does the blacksmith plover live?

The blacksmith lapwing or blacksmith plover (Vanellus armatus) occurs commonly from Kenya through central Tanzania to southern and southwestern Africa.

How does a blacksmith plover make its nest?

The Blacksmith Plover builds its nest on the ground using its body to dig the hole. This procedure is called the nest-scrape. The Blacksmith Plover lays one to four eggs each time. Incubation by both parents begins after the last egg is laid and lasts about 23 31 days.

Why do Blacksmith lapwings attack?

When Blacksmith lapwings feel threatened, they don’t hesitate to attack an intruder and produce their harsh loud call; during this, their wings are spread, the neck is extended and the bill points towards the intruder. Such a display is very helpful for these small birds and often deter predators. 1.

What is a blacksmith plover?

The Blacksmith Plover is a medium sized lapwing bird approximately 12 inches long. It is a strikingly patterned bird with red eyes, and very long legs. The long legs enable it to move very quickly across the open moist landscapes enjoyed by the creature. Both sexes are alike having primarily black and white plumage with a tinge of occasional gray.

Where do lapwing birds live in Africa?

It is distributed throughout southern and eastern Africa – where it occurs in the Savanna grasslands, wetlands, riverine forests and moist grasslands. The Blacksmith Lapwing is common in Kenya through central Tanzania to southern and southwestern Africa, along rivers and lakes.

Where do Blacksmith lapwings live?

The distribution of Blacksmith Lapwings ranges from southern Kenya to Angola in the west and South Africa in the eastern parts of the continent. They are, however, very rare or have uneven distribution in severe arid areas of western parts of the sub-continent (Namib Desert, Kalahari and parts of the Northern Cape).

How do lapwings raise their wings?

Out to the right of the standing bird, and some way back across the field, two, no three, lapwings were raising and lowering their wings as if they were trying on capes for size, their feet paddling and stomping with the exertion, or as if making a pouty point. Each lift raised brilliant white inner wings.

What is the poetic meaning of the lapwing?

The poetic meaning of the lapwing is “disguise the secret” because she hides her nest so successfully. Some say that Solomon invented the language of the birds, and the lapwing was the first to use it. A little bird told me … this expression refers to an implied secret or private source of knowledge.

What does a Lapwing wader look like?

The lapwing is a distinctive-looking wader with very broad, rounded black and white wings, a dark green back, and an upward pointing crest on the back of the head. It is found over much of Britain, commonly breeding on farmland, pasture, and wet grassland.

What does a Lapwing call sound like?

It is during the breeding season that the distinctive call of the lapwing is most often heard, a wheezy, drawn-out ‘peewit’ from which the colloquial name of the bird derives.

Where do lapwing lizards live?

The Blacksmith Lapwing is at home in wetlands of all sizes, in riverine forests and close to lakes, dams and streams. In fact, even very small damp areas caused by a spilling water trough attracts them. They avoid mountains of any type. They typically occur singly or in pairs.

Where do blacksmith lapwing live?

It is usually sedentary when breeding. The Blacksmith Lapwing is at home in wetlands of all sizes, in riverine forests and close to lakes, dams and streams. In fact, even very small damp areas caused by a spilling water trough attracts them.

Why is it called a blacksmith lapwing?

The vernacular name derives from the repeated metallic ‘tink, tink, tink’ alarm call, which suggests a blacksmith ‘s hammer striking an anvil. Blacksmith lapwings are very boldly patterned in black, grey and white, possibly warning colours to predators.

Where do Blacksmith plovers come from?

The blacksmith lapwing or blacksmith plover ( Vanellus armatus) 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.

What does a blacksmith plover eat?

The Blacksmith Plover spends most of its time during the day at lakes and marshes with muddy banks where it feeds on insects, worms, snails, seeds, small mollusks, and crustaceans. There have been scattered reports over the past 2,500 years of the Blacksmith Plover feeding near and in the mouths of crocodiles.

Do Blacksmith plovers feed on crocodiles?

There have been scattered reports over the past 2,500 years of the Blacksmith Plover feeding near and in the mouths of crocodiles. The Blacksmith Plover plucks parasites from the backs of the reptiles as they bask in the sun.

How did the blacksmith lapwing get its name?

The Blacksmith Lapwing or Blacksmith Plover ( Vanellus armatus) is named for its repeated metallic ‘tink, tink, tink’ alarm call – which sounds similar to a blacksmith’s hammer striking metal. In Africa, this species is also commonly referred to as “Bontkiewiet.”