Northern Lapwing

Overview

Northern Lapwing: Large, unique plover with black breast, face, crown, and long upright head plumes; back is green-tinged purple and copper. Belly and sides are white, uppertail is white with a black tip, and undertail coverts are rich rufous-orange. Wings are dark with white tips; legs are pink.

Range and Habitat

Northern Lapwing: Found in a wide variety of open areas with bare ground or low grasses. Widespread in Europe and Asia, occasionally wanders in the fall to eastern Canada and northeastern United States.

INTERESTING FACTS

In the Netherlands it is a cultural-historical competition to find the first egg of the year.
Many records in North America happen after storms. A storm in December 1927 and another in January 1966 account for an appreciable part of Canadian records.
A group of lapwings has many collective nouns, including a "deceit", "desert", and "skein" of lapwings.
The Northern Lapwing is also known as the Peewit, Green Plover or (in the British Isles) just Lapwing.

The Northern Lapwing has a large range, estimated globally at 10,000,000 square kilometers. Native to Europe and Asia and introduced to North America and nearby island nations, this bird prefers marine, grassland, and shrubland ecosystems. The global population of this bird is estimated at 4,400,000 to 7,000,000 individuals and does not show signs of decline that would necessitate inclusion on the IUCN Red List. For this reason, the current evaluation status of the Northern Lapwing is Least Concern.