White-tailed lapwing
| White-tailed lapwing | ||||||||||
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White-tailed lapwing ( Vanellus leucurus ) |
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| Vanellus leucurus | ||||||||||
| ( Lichtenstein , 1823) |
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The white-tailed lapwing ( Vanellus leucurus ) is a monotypic bird art from the family of Plover . It is a rare guest bird in Central and Western Europe and the Mediterranean area. However, it has been observed more frequently in Central Europe since the species has significantly expanded its range on the Black Sea.
description
The white-tailed lapwing reaches a body length of 26 to 29 centimeters and weighs between 99 and 198 grams. The legs are long and of a striking yellow color. The beak is long in relation to its size. The back and neck are brownish, the head is predominantly beige-brown with a lighter face and throat. The neck is sandy brown and stands out clearly from the gray chest. The belly is cream colored and brightens towards the tail, the tail is pure white. The top of the body is gray-brown with a purple tinge. In the plumage of white-tailed lapwing is colored a bit darker and has more white around his throat and face. The young birds are similar to the adult white-tailed lapwing, but have lightly lined feathers on the upper side of the body.
Distribution area
The white-tailed lapwing is island-like in semi-deserts from the Volga Delta and the east of the Caspi region to Lake Balkhash . A more closed distribution area stretches from northern Iran and Iraq to western Pakistan . The main distribution center of the species is the marshland in Iraq and in the southwest of Iran as well as the warm temperate steppe zone in southern Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. There are also individual breeding records for Syria , Ukraine and Azerbaijan as well as for the south and central country of Turkey . Breeding birds were also seen in the United Arab Emirates and eastern Saudi Arabia towards the end of the 20th century. Since 2000 there have also been isolated breeding records for the Danube Delta in Romania.
The white-tailed lapwing is a partial migrant , with the breeding birds in the north of the Caspi Coast and in Jordan apparently being migratory birds. Wintering quarters can be found in the south of Central Asia to the northwest of India, in Iraq, in the Middle East and in the Nile Valley. The migration from the breeding quarters begins in August, and from September the birds find their winter quarters. The move home begins in March / April.
Habitat and manner
White-tailed lapwings breed in stagnant or slowly flowing shallow water as well as in swamp meadows and stands of salt plants. Occasionally they can also be found in rice fields. The diet consists of insects and mud-dwelling invertebrates. Beetles make up the largest part of the diet, but grasshoppers, worms, aquatic insects and small mollusks also play a role.
White-tailed lapwings breed in loose colonies. Most colonies consist of only a few birds. However, colonies from Iraq in particular are known to contain more than 100 nests. These are often breeding colonies on small islands. Some of the nests are only a few meters apart. As is characteristic of lapwing, the nest is a shallow hollow, which is sparsely covered with available plant material. The clutch consists of three to four eggs. These are cream in color with dark brown spots and spots. The breeding season is 22 to 24 days. The young birds are led by the parent birds for about 30 days.
Outside the breeding season, white-tailed lapwings live gregariously.
Existence and endangerment
At the beginning of the 20th century, the population in Europe comprised around 80 to 320 breeding pairs. Of these, about 50 to 150 breeding pairs are in Azerbaijan and 30 to 120 breeding pairs in Russia. The global population is believed to be less than 100,000 individuals. Due to the large distribution area, the assumed population development and the population size, the species is classified as not endangered by the IUCN (Least Concern, LC).
supporting documents
literature
- Hans-Günther Bauer, Einhard Bezzel and Wolfgang Fiedler (eds.): The compendium of birds in Central Europe: Everything about biology, endangerment and protection. Volume 1: Nonpasseriformes - non-sparrow birds. Aula-Verlag Wiebelsheim, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-89104-647-2 .
- Peter Colston , Philip Burton: Limicolen - All European wader species, identifiers, flight images, biology, distribution. BlV Verlagsgesellschaft, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-405-13647-4
- Simon Delany, Derek Scott, Tim Dodman, David Stroud (Eds.): An Atlas of Wader Populations in Africa and Western Eurasia . Wetlands International , Wageningen 2009, ISBN 978-90-5882-047-1 .
