Charadriidae
Masked Lapwing
Vanellus miles
The Yellow-Masked Watch
- Length
- 35 cm
- Wingspan
- 80 cm
- Family
- Charadriidae
Identification
A loud, long-legged plover of ovals and wet grass. Black cap, a staring yellow eye, and — the mark that settles it — large yellow facial wattles hanging beside a yellow bill. The back is brown, the underparts white, the legs long and yellow. A spur on the wing is the old name (spur-winged plover) made flesh. They do not do subtle.
Distinctive marks
- Large yellow facial wattles
- Black cap, yellow bill
- Brown back, white underparts
- Long yellow legs
- A shout that owns the oval
Behaviour & ecology
Pairs hold a stretch of open ground and defend it with a courage out of scale. They nest in a scrape on an oval, a roundabout, or a school field, and will dive a dog, a cyclist, or a headmaster. The chicks leave the nest within hours and are the colour of dry grass.
Voice
A harsh, carrying 'kekekekek' — the sound of an Australian sports field at dusk. Alarm is the same call, louder.
On the Peninsula
Ovals, wet paddocks, golf fairways, and the odd Peninsula nature strip. They have followed mown grass into the suburb and stayed.
Season
Year-round. Nesting peaks in late winter and spring — give the scrape a berth.
Diet
Insects, worms, and small invertebrates taken from short grass.
Conservation
Secure. A beneficiary of open ground; nests are vulnerable to mowers and dogs.
Lore & resonance
The wattles are a small ceremony the bird wears on its face. A lapwing that has chosen your oval has decided the grass is a country, and you are a visitor.
If you would attract them
You do not attract them. You leave a scrape un-mown for a fortnight, leash the dog, and accept that the oval has a second committee.
