The blacksmith lapwing or blacksmith plover (''Vanellus armatus'') 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.
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
Mesic may refer to:
* Mesic, North Carolina, a town in the United States
* Mesic habitat, a type of habitat
See also
*Mesić (disambiguation)
*Mešić Mešić is a Bosnian surname, a patronymic derived from the masculine given name '' Meša'', it ...
grassland region, less so in higher-rainfall grasslands. Like the
crowned lapwing
The crowned lapwing (''Vanellus coronatus''), or crowned plover, is a bird of the lapwing subfamily that occurs contiguously from the Red Sea coast of Somalia to southern and southwestern Africa. It is an adaptable and numerous species, with bold ...
, 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 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 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 jacanas 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.[ This lapwing feeds on aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates.][
]
See also
* Lapwing
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, Kenya
Image:Blacksmith_Plover_in_the_Okavango_delta_2007.jpg, In the Okavango Delta, Botswana
File:Vanellus armatus Etosha.jpg, At Etosha pan, Namibia
File:Blacksmith Plover ( Vanellus armatus) 3.jpg, In flight, showing wing spurs
Further reading
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q931114
blacksmith lapwing
Birds of Southern Africa
blacksmith lapwing
blacksmith lapwing
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