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Meet Masked Lapwing Bird, The Cautious Noise Maker With Yellow Wattle And Black Shoulder Band

While a handful of feathered guys are timid and choose to hide others are loud and fearless. This one we're going to introduce is surely an extrovert of the birdie world. Today, meet the masked lapwing bird (Vanellus miles), a large, common, and conspicuous bird!

Source: Evan Lipton, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

This species is native to Australia, particularly the northern and eastern parts of the continent, New Zealand and New Guinea. It is abundant in most open countries, being a common feature of urban parks, sporting fields, paddocks, riverbeds, wetlands, and coastal habitats.

masked lapwingSource: patrickkavanagh

This lapwing has a large yellow wattle across the forehead and hanging over the bill. There are two subspecies: southern "Black-shouldered" has a black shoulder band and a larger black cap. The northern subspecies lack a black shoulder band and have a larger yellow wattle. Only the "Black-shouldered" subspecies occur in New Zealand.

masked lapwingSource: Delia Walker, Gladstone, Queensland, Australia

These big guys are noisy with various distinctive calls, which can be heard at any time of the day or night: the warning call, a loud defending call, courtship calls, calls to its young, and others. Since the bird lives on the ground, it is always alert, and even though it rests, it never sleeps properly.

Lapwing BirdSource: Terence Alexander, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

The birds spend much of their time on the ground, searching for worms and insects to feed on. When building nests, they are aggressive and assault other animals, and can be a threat to aircraft.

Lapwing BirdSource: JJ Harrison

Lapwing BirdSource: Graham Winterflood

The masked lapwing likes to live together in a big family. The chick reaches full growth after four or five months and will often stay with the parents for about one to two years, resulting in family groups of three to five birds nesting in one location over the summer.

Lapwing BirdSource: patrickkavanagh

Lapwing BirdSource: Terence Alexander, Redland, Queensland, Australia

IUCN Red List classifies this lapwing as Least Concern. Their lifespan is approximately 16 years.

Lapwing BirdSource: Zebedee Muller, Moreland, Victoria, Australia

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