The Lapwing
The Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus, also known by various onomatopoeic names, most commonly ‘Peewit’ or ‘tew-it’ and, rarely, as the Green Plover, is resident to the British isles and in winter huge flocks, (a group is called a ‘deceit’), can be seen on our coastal estuaries, mudflats and nearby farmland.
Enchanting and enigmatic
Lapwings are enormously enigmatic and enchanting wading birds, with a broad black band across their breast, bright white plumage on their underneath and a beautifully iridescent green and purple back they are very striking too. They have a unique and rather splendid crest, which is shorter on the female, and a distinct and unmistakeable manner of flight.
Flocks of Lapwing can be easily identified from quite far off (look below the tower block!) by the ‘flickering’ effect the black and white underneaths of their wings create and they tend to flap their wings, which have quite a rounded tip to them, in a uniquely ponderous and rather languid manner. This flickering, flapping flight gave the species it’s scientific name; Vanellus, which is Latin for ‘little fan’ and it is thought by some natural historians that ‘Lapwing’ derives from the Old English word ‘hleapewince’, which means ‘leap with a flicker’, the ancient Britons and other cultures held a belief, which still survives, that the arrival of the Lapwing invokes fertility, the rains and the health of the flocks.
Gregarious gatherings
The adult Lapwing is around 25 to 30 cm tall from foot to crest with a wingspan of 65 to 75cm, and the male and female are quite similar in appearance, although the male has a longer crest. Like lots of waders they are very gregarious and will gather together in vast flocks, along with other species such as the [Golden Plover](https://www.reddit.com/r/ForestofBowland/comments/qy5k92/the_golden_plover/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm
... keep reading on reddit ➡The Lapwing
The Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus, also known by various onomatopoeic names, most commonly ‘Peewit’ or ‘tew-it’ and, rarely, as the Green Plover, is resident to the British isles and in winter huge flocks, (a group is called a ‘deceit’), can be seen on our coastal estuaries, mudflats and nearby farmland.
Enchanting and enigmatic
Lapwings are enormously enigmatic and enchanting wading birds, with a broad black band across their breast, bright white plumage on their underneath and a beautifully iridescent green and purple back they are very striking too. They have a unique and rather splendid crest, which is shorter on the female, and a distinct and unmistakeable manner of flight.
Flocks of Lapwing can be easily identified from quite far off (look below the tower block!) by the ‘flickering’ effect the black and white underneaths of their wings create and they tend to flap their wings, which have quite a rounded tip to them, in a uniquely ponderous and rather languid manner. This flickering, flapping flight gave the species it’s scientific name; Vanellus, which is Latin for ‘little fan’ and it is thought by some natural historians that ‘Lapwing’ derives from the Old English word ‘hleapewince’, which means ‘leap with a flicker’, the ancient Britons and other cultures held a belief, which still survives, that the arrival of the Lapwing invokes fertility, the rains and the health of the flocks.
Gregarious gatherings
The adult Lapwing is around 25 to 30 cm tall from foot to crest with a wingspan of 65 to 75cm, and the male and female are quite similar in appearance, although the male has a longer crest. Like lots of waders they are very gregarious and will gather together in vast flocks, along with other species such as the [Golden Plover](https://www.reddit.com/r/ForestofBowland/comments/qy5k92/the_golden_plover/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm
... keep reading on reddit ➡