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9

Masked Lapwing - Aboriginal information

(Vanellus miles)
Alternative names: "Spur-winged Plover", "Wattled Plover", "Alarm-bird"
Aboriginal name: "baaldarradharra" [gamilaraay, yuwaalaraay]; "dabe-dabehr" [western bundjalung]; "dilbidilbi" [ngadjon]; "perrit-perrit" [yartwatjali], "pirrit-pirrit" [tjapwurrung], "perrit" [western djadjawurrung], "parritj-parritj" [eastern djadjawurrung]
Size: 35-39 cm
Weight: 370 g (average)

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Spiritual significance

The Masked Lapwing (Spur-winged Plover), under the name of "Masked Plover", features in Aboriginal creation stories. A few examples are reproduced or listed here.

R. A. Roberts and C. P. Mountford tell the story of "The Transformation of Parabruma" (1968 ed.), p. 72. This story tells how the Black Kite and the Masked Lapwing, with the skin flaps by the sides of its head, were created.

Disclaimer: Not being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin, we make no claim of intellectual ownership of any of the information presented here. We merely collect facts and stories documented by others. Credits/references are listed HERE.

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