Masked Lapwing Vanellus miles Scientific name definitions

Taxonomic note: Lump. This account is a combination of multiple species accounts originally published in HBW Alive. That content has been combined and labeled here at the subspecies level. Moving forward we will create a more unified account for this parent taxon. Please consider contributing your expertise to update this account.

Masked Lapwing (Masked)

30–37 cm; 191–300 g; wingspan 75–85 cm. Large lapwing with outsize yellow wattles and long yellow carpal spurs  ; crown black, upperparts plain olive brown, underparts  white. Sexes alike, but male averages larger. No seasonal variation. Juvenile has feathers on greyish upperparts fringed with buff; small wing spurs and wattles.

Masked Lapwing (Black-shouldered)

30–37 cm; 296–412 g; wingspan 75–85 cm. Large lapwing. Crown and nape black continuing over central hindneck to join narrow black collar  extending around lower hindneck and onto sides of breast; rest of feathered parts of head and neck white. Mantle  , back , scapulars, tertials, inner wing-coverts and alula pale grey-brown, with silver-grey wingbar on greater wing-coverts; outerwing and secondaries black. Rump  , longest uppertail-coverts and base of tail white, rest of tail  mostly black with thin white tip. Underparts  mostly white. Bill yellow, paler at tip (sometimes greenish); wattles bright yellow, covering only forehead and reaching only to eye; iris yellow with bright yellow orbital ring; legs and feet dull red, grey on front of tarsi in some; and wing-spur long and sharp, yellow, with blackish tip. Sexes alike (though male averages larger) and no seasonal variation. Juvenile  has crown and nape blackish brown, with buffish tips when fresh, mantle, scapulars, tertials and wing-coverts have dark brown subterminal bands and narrow buff tips, and rectrices also tipped buff; bill duller yellow with dusky tip, wattles duller and even smaller, wing-spur usually shorter and blunt, and legs and feet dark grey. Compared to formerly conspecific <em>V. miles</em> (see Taxonomy), <em>novaehollandiae</em> has somewhat smaller wattles and much more extensive black cap continuing down hindneck to black breast patches; forms intermediate between them occur widely.

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Masked Lapwing (Masked)

Masked Lapwing (Black-shouldered)

Masked Lapwing (Masked)

NE & S New Guinea and Aru Is to N Australia; probably non-breeding visitor to SE Wallacea.

Masked Lapwing (Black-shouldered)

E & SE Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand, including Stewart I; recently colonized, and now well established in, Chatham Is.

Masked Lapwing (Masked)

Wide range of open habitats with, preferably, short grass , either natural or cultivated, including pastures, fallow fields, airfields and margins of various kinds of wetlands, ranging from temporary pools and water-holes to lakes and lagoons; usually close to water. Also found in sheltered coastal areas. Common within urban areas, including parks, playing fields and grassy roadsides. Recorded to 500 m in New Guinea.

Masked Lapwing (Black-shouldered)

Masked Lapwing (Masked)

Resident and dispersive, responding to new food sources in recently constructed and temporary wetlands, leaving as soon as they dry out. Young more dispersive than adults. Numbers at Australian coastal areas seem to increase in autumn, when inland wetlands dry up. Status in Moluccas , Tanimbar and nearby islands unclear, but perhaps regular non-breeding (dry-season) visitor (May–Dec), though known in this region from just one recent record (in 2007) on Kai Is (2 Johnstone, R. E., and S. (B.) van Balen (2013). The birds of the Kai and Tayandu Islands, Maluku region, Indonesia. Western Australian Naturalist 29(1):11–56. Close ), a small influx on Timor in 2005 and three records (all perhaps same birds) on Flores in 2007 (3 Trainor, C.R., Bauer, M., Schellekens, M., Bos, B. and Marijnissen, T. (2009). First records of Masked Lapwing Vanellus miles for Timor and Flores, Lesser Sundas. Kukila. 14: 70–72. Close ). In non-breeding season occurs in small flocks, sometimes of up to several hundreds; small flocks of non-breeders and failed breeders occur during breeding season.

Masked Lapwing (Black-shouldered)

Masked Lapwing (Masked)

Mainly insects, worms and spiders; also molluscs, crustaceans, seeds and leaves. Diet based on stomach contents in Queensland included gastropods, spiders, various insects (Thysanura, Blattodea, Dermaptera, Tettigoniidae, Gryllidae, Gryllotalpidae, Acrididae, Hemiptera, Cydinidae, Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Dynastinae, Elateridae, Tenebrionidae, Chrysomelidae, Curculionidae, Diptera, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera), tree-frogs, and plant material (mainly seeds of Poaceae, Paniceae, Panicoideae, Cyperaceae and Fabaceae). Young seem to feed mainly on worms, beetles and beetle larvae. Apart from typical plover-style feeding, also feeds by foot-trembling. Usually forages in short grass, sometimes in gravel and mud. Possibly also feeds at night. 

Masked Lapwing (Black-shouldered)

Diet includes molluscs, worms  , millepedes, centipedes, insects, crustaceans, and occasionally seeds, leaves and frogs. Walk or run, then lunge and stab at prey; also employs foot-trembling; foraging rate higher in adults than young, with juveniles reliant on earthworms brought to surface by rainfall. Usually forages in short grass , sometimes in gravel and mud. Possibly also feeds at night.

Masked Lapwing (Masked)

No known differences between this species  and V. novaehollandiae.

Masked Lapwing (Black-shouldered)

Alarm call is a loud penetrating stuttering “keer-kick-ki-ki-ki”, sometimes a single “heer” or clicking sound, given on ground and in flight, whenever disturbed. Also gives rattling, chattering, trills, purring and soft calls, mostly during displays.

Masked Lapwing (Masked)

Eggs recorded Nov–Apr in Northern Territory, all months in NE Queensland, and Aug–Nov and Mar in N Western Australia. Monogamous on long-term basis; very faithful to breeding site. Piping-parties of up to 6–7 birds probably play role in pair formation. Breeds solitarily in territory, but may occasionally join nearby flocks. Usually nests in short grass, often near water; nest is depression in ground, unlined or lined with plant material, pebbles and debris. Clutch four eggs, sometimes three in New Guinea, olive-coloured with darker markings; incubation 28–30 days; chick  has upperparts pale brown speckled buff and mottled black, white hindneck collar, underparts mostly white; young can swim from early age; fledging usually 6–7 weeks (5–8). Both sexes contribute in a similar way to incubation, including bout duration (4 Cardilini, A.P.A., Weston, M.A., Dann, P. and Sherman, C.D.H. (2015). Sharing the load: role equity in the incubation of a monomorphic shorebird, the Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles). Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 127(4): 730–733. Close ). Many nests may fail through destruction by cattle, disturbance, mowing, predation and flooding. 

Masked Lapwing (Black-shouldered)

Lays mid Aug to early Dec, also early Mar in SE Queensland, Jun–Dec in S Australia, Jun to late Nov in New Zealand, Apr–Jul in New Caledonia; breeding season covers 9–11 months. Monogamous on long-term basis; very faithful to breeding site. Piping-parties of up to 6–7 birds probably play role in pair formation. Breeds  solitarily in territory, but may occasionally join nearby flocks. Usually nests in short grass, often near water; nest is depression (15 cm wide) in ground, unlined or lined with plant material, pebbles and debris. Replacement clutches may be laid up to 0·7 km from first site, but may also re-use same site in following season. Clutch four eggs, sometimes three, exceptionally 5–7, laid at c. 24-hour intervals, light yellowish olive, brownish olive, or bright olive-green to dark stone-coloured, with many spots and blotches of brownish black or purple, size 42–59 mm × 32–38 mm, mass 25–35 g; incubation 28–30 days, by both sexes; chick has upperparts pale brown speckled buff and mottled black, white hindneck collar  , black shoulder mark from early age, underparts mostly white, mass at hatching 14–26 g; young can swim from early age; fledging usually 6–7 weeks (5–8); families from adjacent territories merge after fledging of young; young are dependent for up to six months; thereafter start associating with other birds, but often still with one or both parents nearby. One female observed breeding at end of first year of life, most birds at two years old. In Victoria, of 180 eggs laid, 45% hatched and 8·9% fledged; in SE Queensland, of 28 nests, 22 failed to hatch any young due to predation, e.g. by Pied Butcherbirds (Cracticus nigrogularis), while of the other six clutches (42 eggs), 12 chicks successfully fledged; on North I, New Zealand, of 542 eggs, 74% hatched, c. 18% fledged. Large proportion of nests may fail through destruction by cattle, disturbance, mowing, predation and flooding. Evidence from Australian nest records scheme, which started in 1957, found that breeding success was highest in Tasmania (although it has declined there over time), while breeding has become earlier in NE and later in SE during course of scheme. Longevity at least 12 years.

Masked Lapwing (Masked)

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Total population of this species and V. novaehollandiae estimated at c. 287,000 birds, of which 258,000 in Australia. Breeding habitat has increased considerably due to cultivation of woodland.

Masked Lapwing (Black-shouldered)

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Total population of this species and V. miles estimated at c. 287,000 birds, of which 258,000 in Australia, but latter has been suspected to be an under-estimate. Rare on Tasmania until 1888, but now a common bird; has also increased numbers in C Australia, reaching SW Western Australia and N into Queensland in 1950s. An accidental visitor to New Zealand between 1886 and 1932 (just two records in 19th century); first breeding record in 1932 in Southland; population has increased and expanded since, colonization assisted by habitat changes; reached Stewart I in 1967 and first breeding record on North I in 1970, where population at least 1755 birds in 1992. At least locally, range and density both still increasing in 1990s at least. Moves to have the species listed as a gamebird in the country were rejected. Also in New Zealand, as species expands range, increasing number of collisions (or near-collisions) with aircraft; these caused 22% of all plane accidents in 1991, so species is extensively controlled on airfields, e.g. by destruction of nests, shooting of adults and maintenance of unsuitable habitat; even vagrants on Fiji have been involved in collisions with aircraft. First bred on Chatham Is in 1981 and was common there by late 1980s, with more than 260 individuals counted in 1995. First recorded on Lord Howe I in 1938, and has bred since late 1990. Arrived in New Caledonia in 1994, where breeding first recorded in 1998, and the species is now known from three areas.