The blacksmith lapwing or blacksmith plover (''Vanellus armatus'') is a

lapwing Lapwings (subfamily Vanellinae) are any of various ground-nesting birds (family Charadriidae) akin to plovers and dotterels. They range from in length, and are noted for their slow, irregular wingbeats in flight and a shrill, wailing cry. A gro ...

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 A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

's hammer striking an anvil.

Description

Blacksmith lapwings are very boldly patterned in black, grey and white, possibly

warning colours Aposematism is the advertising by an animal to potential predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. This unprofitability may consist of any defences which make the prey difficult to kill and eat, such as toxicity, venom, foul taste or ...

to predators. It is one of five lapwing species (two African, one Asian and two Neotropical) that share the characteristics of red eyes and a bold pied plumage, with a carpal (wing) spur adorning the wrist joint; a sharp black protrusion which they use to aggressively defend their young from potential threats, through persistent aerial dives typically targeting the head. The portions of the bird's body bare to plumage average a black coloration for the bill, and either a black or white-grey dappling on the legs. Females average larger and heavier but the sexes are generally alike.

Habitat and numbers

The blacksmith lapwing occurs in association with wetlands of all sizes. Even very small damp areas caused by a spilling water trough can attract them. In South Africa they are most numerous in the mesic grassland region, less so in higher-rainfall grasslands. Like the crowned lapwing, this species may leave Zambia and Zimbabwe in years of high rainfall and return in dry years. It avoids mountains of any type. Blacksmith lapwings expanded their range in the 20th century into areas where dams were built and where

intensive farming Intensive agriculture, also known as intensive farming (as opposed to extensive farming), conventional, or industrial agriculture, is a type of agriculture, both of crop plants and of animals, with higher levels of input and output per unit of ag ...

was practiced. Consequently, they are now numerous and established in the western Cape region of South Africa, where they were absent until the 1930s. In this region they have also entered

estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

mud flats Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...

in winter where they aggressively displace other waders. Although they are partially migratory, they do not seem to engage in large-scale, regular migrations.

Ecology

During the breeding season, the species often reacts aggressively to other lapwings or

African jacana The African jacana (''Actophilornis africanus'') is a wader in the family Jacanidae. It has long toes and long claws that enables it to walk on floating vegetation in shallow lakes, its preferred habitat. It is widely distributed in sub-Saharan A ...

s that may enter its wetland habitat. Nests are shallow depressions on bare ground or short grass, close to water, and tend to be spaced at least 400 m apart. The blacksmith lapwing breeds in spring, but its choice of nesting site and timing may be opportunistic. The young separate gradually from their parents and do not return to natal areas afterwards. This lapwing feeds on aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates.

References

Gallery

File:Vanellus armatus 2.jpg, Nesting in a road in Kenya File:Vanellus armatus -Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania -egg-8.jpg, Adult, nest and egg in Tanzania File:Vanellus armatus, nes, Little Eden, a.jpg, Clutch near freshwater shoreline File:Vanellus armatus, legsel, Sunrise view, a.jpg, Clutch covered with plant debris in a garden File:Vanellus armatus -Lake Nakuru, Kenya-8.jpg, Foraging at

Lake Nakuru Lake Nakuru is one of the Rift Valley lakes at an elevation of above sea level. It lies to the south of Nakuru, in the rift valley of Kenya and is protected by Lake Nakuru National Park. The lake's abundance of algae used to attract a vast qu ...

, Kenya Image:Blacksmith_Plover_in_the_Okavango_delta_2007.jpg, In the

Okavango Delta The Okavango Delta (or Okavango Grassland; formerly spelled "Okovango" or "Okovanggo") in Botswana is a swampy inland delta formed where the Okavango River reaches a tectonic trough at an altitude of 930–1,000 m in the central part of the en ...

, Botswana File:Vanellus armatus Etosha.jpg, At

Etosha pan The Etosha Pan is a large endorheic salt pan, forming part of the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin in the north of Namibia. It is a hollow in the ground in which water may collect or in which a deposit of salt remains after water has evaporated. The 120-kilo ...

, Namibia File:Blacksmith Plover ( Vanellus armatus) 3.jpg, In flight, showing wing spurs

Description

Habitat and numbers

Ecology

See also

References

Gallery

Further reading