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Banded LapwingAlternate name(s): "Banded Plover", "Black-breasted Plover", "Flock Plover", "Plain Plover", "Tri-coloured Plover" ![]() Size: 25-29 cm Weight: 190 g (average) |
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Similar |
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Photos |
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ADULT |
Sex unknown |
Frontal portrait of a Banded Lapwing
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, near Cunnamulla, QLD, June 2019]
Frontal view of an adult Banded Lapwing
[Near Terry Hie Hie, NSW, July 2013]
Near-lateral view of a Banded Lapwing
[Near Terry Hie Hie, NSW, July 2013]
Near-lateral view of a Banded Lapwing; this bird was not walking,
but pulling up one of its legs to rest
[Near Terry Hie Hie, NSW, July 2013]
Lateral view of a Banded Lapwing
[Burren Junction Bore Bath, NSW, December 2013]
Lateral view of a Banded Lapwing
[Goodooga, NSW, September 2017]
Lateral view of a Banded Lapwing
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, near Cunnamulla, QLD, June 2019]
Lateral view of a Banded Lapwing
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, near Cunnamulla, QLD, June 2019]
Lateral view of a Banded Lapwing seen preening
[Near Terry Hie Hie, NSW, July 2013]
Banded Lapwing scanning the sky for raptors (photo courtesy of C. Hayne)
[Near Terry Hie Hie, NSW, July 2013]
Near-dorsal view of a Banded Lapwing checking for predators
[Goodooga, NSW, September 2017]
Near-dorsal view of a Banded Lapwing on a
beach
[Near Old Bar, NSW, September 2011]
Close-up dorsal view of a Banded Lapwing (photo courtesy of
C. Charles)
[Diamantina River, QLD, August 2013]
Dorsal view of a Banded Lapwing
[Near Terry Hie Hie, NSW, July 2013]
Dorsal view of a Banded Lapwing on a beach
[Near Old Bar, NSW, September 2011]
More than 20 Banded Lapwings on the bank of an artificial
dam
[Burren Junction Bore Bath, NSW, November 2013]
Banded Lapwings in flight, displaying their upperwing pattern
(photo courtesy of C. Hayne)
[Near Moree, NSW, December 2012]
Banded Lapwings banking to land
[Near Burren Junction, NSW, December 2015]
Two Banded Lapwings in flight
[Goran Lake, NSW, August 2011]
Near-dorsal view of a Banded Lapwing about to land
[Near Burren Junction, NSW, July 2018]
Near-dorsal view of a Banded Lapwing folding its wings
[Near Burren Junction, NSW, July 2018]
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
Lateral view of an adult, left, and an immature Banded Lapwing;
note the small wattle and not yet completely black cap and
frontal band
[Burren Junction Bore Bath, NSW, January 2020]
Lateral view of an immature Banded Lapwing
[Burren Junction Bore Bath, NSW, January 2020]
Lateral view of a juvenile Banded Lapwing; this bird and its
sibling were still fed by their parents
[Goodooga, NSW, September 2017]
Lateral view of a juvenile Banded Lapwing
[Goodooga, NSW, September 2017]
Near-dorsal view of a juvenile Banded Lapwing
[Goodooga, NSW, September 2017]
Dorsal view of a juvenile Banded Lapwing
[Goodooga, NSW, September 2017]
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Breeding information |
Breeding season: Jul - Jan | Eggs: 3 - 5 | Incubation period: ca. 28 days | Fledging age: N/A |
The breeding season listed in the table above relates to the southern part of the continent. In the North, Banded Lapwings breed in autumn. Given the right conditions, they can in principle breed any time of the year. Banded Lapwing chicks are precocial.
Nest building: Female & male | Incubation: Female & male | Dependent care: Female & male |
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Nest |
"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal] |
Type: Scrape | Material: Soil, rocks, some twigs | Height above ground: N/A |
Nest of a pair of Banded Lapwings, placed right near the end of the
runway of a commercial airport (photo courtesy of R. Muilenburg)
[Ravensthorpe, WA, September 2015]
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Eggs |
"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay] |
Size: 42 x 31 mm | Colour: Olive-grey, with dark grey-brown speckles | Shape: Tapered oval |
Close-up view of the three Banded Lapwing eggs in the nest shown
above (photo courtesy of R. Muilenburg)
[Ravensthorpe, WA, September 2015]
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Behaviour |
Social behaviour: Territorial | Mobility: Sedentary/dispersive | Elementary unit: Pair |
Outside the breeding season Banded Lapwings will regularly form flocks. In recent years (2000+) they have been reported in numbers of under 100, while earlier - when there were more sheep in Australia and more short grass, they were found in much larger flocks.
There is now a separate page describing the behaviour of a flock of 50 Banded Lapwings around a shallow puddle where they had found a temporary home in a fallow field.
We have seen Banded Lapwings associate with their larger cousins, Masked Lapwings.
People with decades of bird-watching experience report that in the past Banded Lapwings were the most common type of lapwing in inland NSW. These days their numbers have declined drastically, at least in north-west NSW, and the dominant species is now the Masked Lapwing. One possible explanation for this shift could be that Banded Lapwings prefer shorter grass than Masked Lapwings, which has become less abundant with the shift from sheep to cattle brought about by the decline in the price of wool.
This Banded Lapwing is surrounded by what it might perceive
to be "lush vegetation" (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Near Pildappa Rock, SA, August 2018]
Banded Lapwing taking a bath
[Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, near Cunnamulla, QLD, June 2019]
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Food, Diet |
Banded Lapwing feeding on short grass growing alongside a dirt
road
[Near Terry Hie Hie, NSW, July 2013]
This Banded Lapwing can find seeds in the red dirt of an outback
air strip (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[350 km ENE of Kalgoorlie, WA, February 2012]
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Call(s)/Song |
For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The
interpretation of their meaning is our own;
comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.
bandlap_20200114.m4a | (NW NSW) | Contact call (in-flight) | © MD | |
bandlap_20210707.m4a | (NW NSW) | Contact calls (in-flight) + Eastern Barn Owl | © MD | |
bandlap_20151222_2.m4a | (NW NSW) | Upset (in-flight) | © MD | |
bandlap_20151222_3.m4a | (NW NSW) | Upset (group in-flight) | © MD |
More Banded Lapwing sound recordings are available at
xeno-canto.org
.